Astro Radio is the media owner company owned and operated by Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad. It was previously Airtime Management and Programming Sdn Bhd (AMP Radio Networks) before it became Astro Radio Sdn Bhd.
Changing the Malaysian Radio scene
Before Astro came about, Malaysian radio was provided through free-to-air networks. When Astro was introduced back in 1996, it changed the landscape altogether. In fact, by introducing format radio, listeners could start enjoying entertainment based on their preferences.
Ideal for advertisers
Format radio offered advertisers new perspectives in media and marketing. In fact, they could now start to be more targeted in terms of reaching to their audience as each station would have a very specific profile of listeners. This has enabled better cost-efficiency in marketing and promotions. Meanwhile, listeners too can have their equal share of content which is only relevant to them.
From the start, Astro Radio has been very focused on what they are offering. To date, it has 4 major languages in its 8 radio stations that reach to more than 11 million listeners each week. They are categorized as follows:
English Language Stations
The English Language stations offered by Astro are among the most popular stations tuned in by listeners each day. They are:
- Hitz – one of the top radio stations in Malaysia, it is one of the pioneering stations from Astro reaching out to youngsters
- Mix – The focus is on the more matured listeners where it plays a mixture of new and classic English music
- Lite – Formerly Light & Easy, most listeners are older and more mature
Bahasa Malaysia Stations
There are 4 Bahasa Malaysia stations offered by Astro, namely ERA, Sinar, Gegar and Zayan.
- ERA – This station records one of the highest listeners in the country. The focus audience is the younger audience where the station plays a mix of old and new music as well as international hits too
- Sinar – The target listeners for Sinar are the mature people who enjoy classic and new songs
- Gegar – This station is available for those in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia
- Zayan – Offering a station for Muslim listeners
Chinese and Tamil Stations
There are in total 3 Chinese and 1 Tamil station.
- Melody – This station has a huge following of mature listeners who tune in to enjoy old and new Chinese music
- My – A generic Chinese music station that caters for people from different age groups although a lot of them are from the younger group
- goXuan – One of the recent digital stations targeting at the younger Chinese listening crowd
- Raaga – This is a Tamil radio station which operates for the listeners from the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia
