The total multi-play service revenues in Japan are set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8% from US$36.4bn in 2020 to US$48.2bn in 2025, driven by strong demand for blended services and growing number of multi-play households in the country, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Japan Multi-play Forecast Model reveals that a total of 80.9% of the households in Japan will have subscription of multi-play packages by 2025, compared to 73.8% in 2020. Double-play packages will remain the most popular multi-play service category in Japan throughout the forecast period, with its household penetration reaching 57.3% in 2025.

Triple-play and quad-play household penetration will also grow during the forecast period to reach 19.4% and 4.3%, respectively, in 2025 as operators promote aggressive pricing strategy to attract new subscriptions.

Deepa Dhingra, Senior Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Increasing coverage of broadband network and growing availability of high-speed fiber-optic broadband services will boost the adoption of multi-play packages in Japan. Fiber lines are expected to account for an estimated 83.7% share of the total broadband lines by the end of 2025.”

The average monthly household spend on multi-play bundles will continue to increase from US$75.94 in 2020 to US$89.24 in 2025, as operators offer benefits such as gigabit speeds, and unlimited access to music platforms, to increase value proposition of the bundled packages.

NTT accounted for the highest number of multi-play households in 2020, followed by KDDI. NTT has been promoting Hikari bundles inclusive of fixed broadband, telephony, pay-TV and mobile services. The operator offers discounts and additional benefits such as unlimited access to magazine and music apps to attract subscribers.