The All Asia Broadcast Centre is the operation base for one of the largest media owners in the Asian region Astro, also known as All-Asian Satellite Television and Radio Operator.
The satellite television and IPTV provider from Malaysia is the operator of the All Asia Broadcast Centre located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur as well as the MEASAT in Cyberjaya which provides a majority of television services throughout the country.
Among the largest media companies in Asia
It has been reported that Astro had more than 70% household penetration in Malaysia in 2016 with an exclusive license to be the only pay-television services provider until 2017.
Today, Astro is a leader in the integrated consumer media entertainment sector. Its services not only cover Malaysia but throughout the Asia region where it has a strong presence in major areas which are Pay-TV, Publications, Radio and Digital platforms respectively.
Astro has a strong customer base which is more than 5 million residential customers across Malaysia. To date, it provides more than 170 television channels of which more than 35 of them are HD quality. This is streamed directly to residential homes via its Direct-to-Home satellite TV, IPTV and OTT services. Besides that, other services cover 3D, PVR, VOD and HD too which are provided through their other platforms Astro On-The-Go and Astro B.yond.
Wide reach of viewers
As an entertainment services provider, Astro’s offerings are not only provided for those in the middle to high-income groups. They also offer NJOI which is an affordable DTH satellite TV service. This is the first non-subscription-based satellite TV service that comes with 22 TV channels as well as 22 radio stations.
Astro’s radio stations have the highest audience among all the competitors. Collectively, it has been reported that Astro Radio reaches more than 17 million listeners each week through their popular radio stations like Melody FM, Era FM, Lite FM and Mix FM, among many others. Offering format radio services in all major languages, this covers more than half of the total market share in the country.
Types of Media by Astro
Astro’s offerings cover a broad range of content and with the digital movement gaining a lot of popularity, Astro has been moving fast with this wave.
Astro GO is a streaming app with more than 90,000 titles for customers to stream from. As for those who prefer a cheaper alternative, they can use NJOI which is a freemium service and customers can upgrade according to what they like.
Radio stations by Astro
In the radio segment, stations operated by Astro are among the highest in listener base. It must also be noted that Astro operates the Syok mobile application which covers music, news, podcasts and videos across 85 online stations. With those in the age group of 20 to 29 having the most listeners, Astro offers programmes in the main languages throughout the day. Below are some of the top stations by Astro.
- ERA – Bahasa Malaysia channel that plays hits and has a weekly reach of more than 5.3 million.
- HITZ – The top English language channel with more than 2.4 million listeners each week playing new music.
- MY – This station reaches 2.7 million listeners weekly and is the No.1 Chinese radio station playing new music and other forms of entertainment.
- MIX – Plays content in the English Language mostly music from the 90s onwards. It has a listener base of 1.3 million weekly.
- LITE – Targeting those between 35 and 49 years olds, they deliver the content of relaxing favourites from the 80s onwards to its 850,000 listeners each week.
- SINAR – Currently the No.2 Bahasa Malaysia station in the country, it has a fan base of about 5 million each week playing mostly local music from the 80s onwards.
- RAAGA – This is the top Tamil radio station for more than a decade and reaching about 1.6 million listeners weekly.
- GEGAR – This has a weekly listener base of 2.1 million and is the top station on the East Coast.
- MELODY – Targeting Chinese listeners between 35 and 49 years of age, it has a base of 1.2 million listeners.
Television Channels by Astro
Astro manages its own television channels which are provided in the major languages of English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil. The content is usually local and they complement other channels offered by Astro. Among them are:
Bahasa Malaysia Channels
Targetting mostly Malay households, there are several channels that are specifically created with content for all different age groups which include:
- Astro Ria
- Astro Prima
- Astro Oasis
- Astro Warna
- Astro Citra
Astro Awani
Tamil Channels
This includes channels like:
- Astro Vaanavil
- Astro Vinmeen
- Astro Vellithirai
Chinese Language channels
Chinese language channels offered by Astro have one of the highest viewership with content targeted for different profiles.
- Astro Xiao Tai Yang
- Astro AEC
- Astro Shuang Xing
- Astro Quan Jia
News, Education, Sports and Others
Besides the language-based channels, Astro also offers content like news, sports, education and TV shopping, this includes the following:
- Astro On Demand – Mostly Chinese series from Hong Kong
- Astro First – Current blockbusters and movies
- Astro Awani – One of the top channels for the latest and current news.
- Astro Tutor SK, Astro Tutor SMK – Educational content
- Astro Arena – Mostly local sports
- Astro SuperSport – Sports content including English Premier League and Formula 1
