Companies must establish comprehensive, responsible AI governance frameworks – PwC’s Wilson Chow

He suggests that the deployment of the technology in the TMT sector represents both the most significant growth opportunity and the most consequential risk landscape in the near future.

Asia-Pacific’s broadcast industry has evolved into a hybrid, tech-driven media ecosystem where traditional media has coexisted with streaming platforms and data-powered advertising. Unlike before, where it has been primarily distributing content, the industry is now becoming a digital-first enterprise that leverages emerging technologies for content personalisation and monetisation, all whilst navigating fragmented regulations and intensified competition.

Offering his expert insights in this transformation is PwC’s head for global technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) industry practice, Wilson Chow. His leadership in the sector, as well as his focus on artificial intelligence (AI) in Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, positions him at the forefront of helping companies adapt and scale within the increasingly complex and convergent media landscape.

Chow has been working in the public accounting practice for more than 30 years. He also has extensive experience in providing assurance and advisory services to various companies, ranging from start-ups to global tech giants, for capital market transactions, assurance engagements, systems and controls advisory, and deals.

As one of the distinguished judges for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards 2026, he explores how broadcasters are transforming in response to digital disruption, how diverse regulatory environments across markets like China shape strategic decisions, and how organisations can responsibly adopt AI whilst managing associated risks. He also seeks to understand how both established players and emerging media companies can build resilient, future-ready business models.

How has leading TMT and AI practices shaped your approach to advising clients in the technology and media sectors?

In response to the rapid cross-sector convergence and the expansion of AI practices, we updated our advisory model to emphasise an integrated, convergence-driven approach. As highlighted in PwC's Global Entertainment & Media (E&M) Outlook 2025–2029 released in July 2025, global E&M revenues are projected to reach approximately US$3.5t by 2029. The fastest-growing segments, such as digital advertising, streaming video, and AI-enabled media services, are strategically positioned at the intersection of technology and content.

Accordingly, we have evolved our advisory approach by adopting the “Value-in Motion” methodology. Value-in-Motion seeks to utilise intelligent technology to ensure our clients remain agile and able to identify and seize emerging opportunities in constantly shifting landscapes. In the E&M sectors, this involves advising our clients with an integrated approach, ensuring that content strategy is not defined in isolation but is aligned with related technology and AI strategy. We provide our clients with recommendations that extend beyond their distribution models. combining advice on regulatory and data constraints specific to each market. The Outlook also reveals that whilst AI adoption is accelerating across content creation and audience engagement, monetisation models are still in their early stages.

Therefore, we reinforce the value of grounding innovative ambitions in commercial reality. The Asia-Pacific region demands nuanced approaches, with India's high-growth, mobile-first market requiring fundamentally different strategies than mature markets like Japan or Australia. Consequently, we prioritise granular, market-specific strategies over broader pan-regional assumptions. Our dual leadership perspective ensures that every recommendation considers the entire ecosystem, including technology architecture, content implications, data privacy, workforce readiness, and sustainable monetisation, distinguishing our transformative advisory from narrow technical consulting.

How are traditional broadcasters adapting to competition from streaming platforms and digital-native media companies?

Traditional broadcasters are undergoing the most significant structural transformation since the analogue-to-digital transition, and our Outlook provides critical context. We have highlighted that internet video revenues are on a trajectory to surpass traditional TV advertising in multiple major markets, whilst TV advertising's share of total spend continues to erode in favour of programmatic, social video, and connected TV channels. Strategically astute broadcasters are responding by building hybrid ecosystems that combine the event-driven power of linear TV, where they retain structural advantages in sports, news, and live programming. Simultaneously, they are investing heavily in locally relevant, culturally specific content. The Outlook identifies this approach as increasingly critical in Asia-Pacific markets where audiences are fragmenting along cultural and linguistic lines.

The growth of connected TV and addressable advertising is enabling broadcasters to offer advertisers the targeting precision previously exclusive to digital native platforms. As a result, the Outlook projects significant expansion in programmatic TV advertising. Revenue model diversification is equally essential. The Outlook shows growth concentrated in subscriptions, digital advertising, content licensing, and adjacent streams like e-commerce and gaming. Consequently, broadcasters dependent solely on linear advertising face structural decline. Those treating this disruption as an opportunity for reinvention rather than a threat to be managed defensively will be better positioned to capture the expanding total addressable market described in the Outlook.

How do regulatory environments across the Asia-Pacific region influence broadcast and media companies’ strategies?

The Asia-Pacific region presents arguably the most diverse and complex regulatory landscape for media companies globally, with regimes ranging from highly liberal markets like Australia to tightly controlled environments like China, making a uniform pan-regional strategy untenable.  Content regulation varies dramatically. China's comprehensive approval requirements,  Southeast Asia's cultural frameworks, and India's evolving extension of oversight to OTT  platforms all demand market-by-market content localisation that goes far beyond language translation.

The Outlook's projections for substantial digital advertising growth across the region are contingent on every company's ability to navigate increasingly stringent data privacy frameworks established in many of the countries like China and India. These frameworks directly impact how audience data can be collected, processed, and monetised for the personalisation and programmatic advertising that the Outlook forecasts. The 2025–2029 period of our Outlook forecast also coincides with a critical phase in AI-specific regulation. China is already enforcing rules on algorithmic recommendation and generative AI, whilst South Korea, Japan, and Australia continue to develop their own frameworks. These ongoing developments create significant compliance complexity for media companies deploying AI across multiple markets.

Foreign ownership restrictions, emerging OTT licensing requirements, and content quota mandates further shape market-entry strategies across the region, often requiring joint ventures or structural arrangements that impact investment returns. Companies that build robust regulatory intelligence capabilities and treat compliance as a strategic differentiator, rather than a cost centre, will be optimally positioned to capture the growth the Outlook projects across this extraordinarily promising but complex region.

What risks should TMT companies be most mindful of when deploying AI technologies?

The deployment of AI across the TMT sector represents both the most significant growth opportunity and the most consequential risk landscape of the forecast period of our Outlook  2025–2029. We made clear that the revenue projections associated with AI adoption are predicated on responsible, well-governed deployment. Intellectual property and copyright uncertainty are arguably the most commercially significant near-term risks.

Generative AI models trained on copyrighted content face active litigation globally, and the ownership status of AI-generated outputs remains unresolved in most jurisdictions, meaning companies deploying generative AI aggressively may face substantial retroactive liability. Bias and representational harm in recommendation and advertising algorithms pose both reputational and regulatory risk, whilst the proliferation of AI-generated videos/images and synthetic media threatens the editorial integrity and audience trust upon which Outlook's projected growth in digital content consumption fundamentally depends. Data privacy risks are also particularly acute because AI systems require vast quantities of audience data.

As data protection frameworks tighten across the region, non-compliant AI deployments risk incurring penalties and eroding consumer trust, which is crucial for supporting projected growth in digital advertising. The rapidly evolving, uneven, and complex AI regulatory landscape across APAC jurisdictions is expected to intensify during the forecast period.

Additionally, over-reliance on AI without meaningful human oversight risks degrading content quality and causing workforce and public relations challenges. We advise our clients to establish comprehensive responsible AI governance frameworks, including board-level oversight, bias audits, human-in-the-loop protocols, and transparent disclosure before scaling deployment.

How should emerging media companies position themselves for sustainable growth in a competitive digital environment?

Our Outlook confirms that the total addressable market for emerging media companies has never been larger, with global E&M revenues on course to approach US$3.5t by 2029. The Asia-Pacific region will contribute a disproportionate share of incremental growth. However, the margin for strategic error has narrowed considerably as the capital environment shifts away from growth-at-all-costs models. Emerging companies should adopt an audience-first strategy,  building a deep understanding of specific communities defined by language, culture, or interest verticals before pursuing breadth. This is because the growing importance of local-language content in APAC confirms that audience preferences are fragmenting in ways that reward focused players with genuine cultural understanding. Sustainable unit economics are now non-negotiable.

Our Outlook shows that the most resilient media businesses diversify their income across subscriptions, advertising, licensing, and commerce rather than depending on a single revenue stream. Investors now demand clear paths to profitability rather than focusing solely on subscriber growth. AI represents a powerful equaliser for resource-constrained companies, enabling operational sophistication in production, personalisation, and advertising that previously required much larger scale. Still, it must be adopted with a clear use-case justification rather than as a universal solution. Ecosystem thinking, which involves leveraging distribution partnerships, technology alliances, and co-production arrangements rather than pursuing vertical integration, allows emerging companies to compete above their weight class whilst managing capital efficiently.

Finally, our Outlook analysis of younger APAC demographics confirms that authentic purpose, inclusive content representation, and responsible practices increasingly drive brand preference. This makes ESG integration not merely an ethical choice but a commercial imperative for sustainable growth.

As a returning judge at the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards 2026, what qualities reflect true excellence in the industry today, and how do you see this year’s nominees demonstrating them?

It is my honour to return as a judge to the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards 2026. This opportunity allows me to witness the practical evolution of the E&M industry. This year's nominations reflect that, having moved through substantive disruption, the industry is now in a phase of purposeful transformation. This aligns with our Outlook findings, which project
continued, disciplined growth across the region. The first quality I look for is innovation with genuine purpose, not technology deployment for its own sake, but the thoughtful application of  AI, data analytics, and immersive formats to enhance storytelling, expand accessibility, and create sustainable value, which the strongest nominees this year demonstrate convincingly.  

Equally important are resilience and strategic clarity. Leading nominees have navigated advertising volatility, streaming wars, and emerging AI disruption not merely by surviving, but by making decisive strategic choices that position them well for the long-term trends of the industry.  Content excellence and editorial integrity also remain foundational. In an era of content abundance, AI-generated misinformation, and audience fragmentation, maintaining consistently high creative and journalistic standards is both challenging and critical.

The nominees that uphold these standards truly stand out. I also look for genuine audience connection beyond raw reach metrics, authentic diversity and representation reflecting Asia-Pacific's extraordinary cultural breadth, as well as responsible technology stewardship demonstrated through transparent AI policies and ethical data practices.

This year's cohort is notably strong in integrating these qualities simultaneously rather than excelling in one dimension whilst neglecting others. This reflects an industry that is maturing in its relationship with technology and deepening its commitment to serving audiences with integrity. Therefore, I have great optimism for the commercial trajectory of the industry and the purposefulness with which this industry is navigating its most transformative era.