Television broadcasting in Malaysia is provided by the federal government and respective private broadcasting companies. Analogue television transmissions were completely turned off on 31 October 2019 and switched to full myFreeview Digital TV broadcast using DVB-T2 technology.[1] The switchover was done in stages by region, which began with from the Central and Southern on 30 September 2019, North and East on 14 October 2019 and Sabah and Sarawak on 31 October 2019.[2] The digital TV transmissions' Service Level Availability (SLA) currently stands at a 99.9% coverage rate.[3]
The first trial broadcasts of digital TV started in 2006 by government-owned Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). Some local TV channels have been broadcasting shows in HD for special occasions since 2008. Free-to-air and subscription-based television channels in Malaysia are available in HD standards through terrestrial, satellite and IP, as well as over OTT platform.
Currently there are only two free-to-air digital terrestrial platforms with high-definition digital television channels in Malaysia, myFreeview and NJOI.
Government-owned television free-to-air broadcast channels
Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM)
Over-the-top (OTT)
Private television free-to-air broadcast channels
Media Prima Berhad
Awesome Media Network Sdn Bhd
DNF Group Sdn Bhd
Semi government television free-to-air broadcast channels
AlHijrah Media Corporation
Malaysia News National Agency (BERNAMA)
Sarawak Media Group (SMG)
Subscription-based providers
Satellite television
Digital terrestrial television (DVB-T2)
- MYTV
- NJOI (available for several free-to-air digital television channels)
IPTV
Over-the-top (OTT)
Local OTTs
- Astro GO
- EDUWEBTV Archived 19 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- iFlix
- MYTV ManaMana
- Selangor TV
- SIAR
- Sooka
- Tonton
- Unifi TV app (formerly known as unifi playTV)
International OTTs
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- BBC Player
- beIN SPORTS CONNECT
- Bilibili
- Crunchyroll
- Disney+ Hotstar
- Eros Now
- HBO GO
- iQIYI
- Lionsgate Play
- Mango TV
- Netflix
- SPOTV NOW
- SonyLIV
- TVB Anywhere+
- Viu
- WeTV
- Youku
- ZEE5
Other television stations
Former or defunct channels and networks
Former Astro channels (by timeline)
- 1998
- 1999
- 2002
- 2006
- 2008
- 2009
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- Astro Stocklink ceased service on New Year's Day (1 January) 2013 at midnight.
- ESPN, ESPNews and ESPN HD rebranded to FOX Sports, FOX Sports News and FOX Sports Plus HD on 28 January 2013.
- Radio Mosaic ceased service on 9 February 2013 due to the same broadcast of radio channels.
- BIO Channel ceased broadcasting and transmission on 14 June 2013 at midnight. Replaced by Lifetime.
- Sony beTV HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 26 August 2013 at midnight. It was the first HD channel to be ceased on Astro.
- CNBC ceased broadcasting and transmission on 7 October 2013 because it was unable to fulfill these objects, but was relaunched back in the same month.
- 2014
- 2015
- iView ceased broadcasting and transmission on 12 January 2015. Replaced by the NJOI version on 20 January 2015.
- Golf Channel in SD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 26 February 2015.
- 2016
- Astro Hitz ceased broadcasting and transmission on 16 May 2016 at midnight due to low viewership and declining popularity.
- Channel M HD was rebranded back as tvN HD on 3 June 2016 (After barely 16 months this channel name after Channel M HD launched in 2015, except for HyppTV).
- Sundance Channel HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2016 at midnight due to low popularity. The first International Movies channel to be ceased on Astro.
- Zee Variasi ceased broadcasting and transmission on Astro on 1 October 2016 at midnight. Replaced by a new Hindi HD channel called Tara HD on 19 October 2016.
- CCTV News rebranded to CGTN on New Year's Eve (31 December) 2016 at 12:00pm.
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
- Astro Maya HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 14 January 2019 at midnight. The programs were later carried by both Astro Prima, Astro Oasis, Astro Prima HD and Astro Oasis HD channels which are HD and it’s available to all Astro customers. For NJOI customers, the HD version is made optional by purchasing the HD pack, while making the SD version available on different channel numbers.
- The SD version of Disney XD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 March 2019. The HD version of this channel remained until 1 January 2021 due to a review of Disney's business in the region and was replaced by TA-DAA HD on 15 March 2021.
- Channel NewsAsia HD rebranded to CNA HD on 29 March 2019 as Channel NewsAsia HD celebrated its 20th anniversary.
- Astro Xi Yue HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2019 at midnight because the Overseas event channel would be aired on Channel 338. Replaced by iQIYI HD 17 days later on the same channel number (Channel 300). It is the first Chinese HD channel to be ceased on Astro.
- A-List HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 2 August 2019 at midnight due to low viewership, but its Astro OD (On Demand) service continued.
- Tara HD was discontinued and terminated on 1 October 2019. Replaced by Colors Hindi HD 6 hours later.
- 2020
- DIVA, E! Entertainment, E! Entertainment HD and DIVA HD officially ceased transmission and broadcasting on New Year's Day (1 January) 2020 at midnight stroke as it ceased broadcasts across Asia while programs on its VOD service and the Astro GO app continued reserved. Replaced by Comedy Central Asia HD on the same date at 6:00 am until it ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 February 2021 because it officially ceased broadcasts across Asia while its VOD service continued to be reserved. They are the first historic channels to cease on Astro. DIVA, E! Entertainment, E! Entertainment HD and DIVA HD shows were moved to Hello HD but it was ceased on 1 October 2021 and transferred the shows to PRIMEtime HD.
- Setanta Sports HD was rebranded to RugbyPass TV HD on 29 January 2020.
- The SD version of Astro Wah Lai Toi officially ceased transmission and broadcasting on 1 April 2020, hence merged with TVB Jade HD. On 1 May 2020, Astro Wah Lai Toi HD was transitioned to its VOD service.
- TVB Classic Movies and Asian Action Channel both ceased broadcasting and transmission on Astro on 5 April 2020 at 00:15 and 00:30 hours respectively under Jade pack.
- Kompas TV and NET ceased broadcasting and ceased transmission as Bintang and Pelangi (offered under Indo Pek) on 1 June 2020 at midnight. In substitution, Astro introduced two new HD channels under Indo Pek offerings, SCTV and Indosiar are launched as Astro Rania HD and Astro Aura HD on 23 May 2020 and are also available in On-Demand and the Astro GO app.
- Jaya TV, Raj TV and Kalaignar TV ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 June 2020. Replaced by Zee Tamil HD at 00:05 hours.
- Astro Vaanavil was upgraded from SD to HD on 1 June 2020, and made available for all Astro customers. For NJOI customers, the HD version is made optional by purchasing the HD pack, while retaining the SD version which is assigned to a different channel number.
- The SD version of Astro First ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2020.
- The SD version of Astro Best ceased broadcasting and transmission on 29 July 2020 while still retaining the HD version of the channel.
- The SD versions of FOX Sports channels and Eurosport ceased broadcasting and transmission on 16 November 2020 while still retaining the HD versions of the channels until the HD versions of FOX Sports HD channels ceased its broadcast on 1 October 2021.
- The SD versions of Astro SuperSport channels ceased broadcasting and transmission on 30 November 2020 while still retaining the HD versions of the channels.
- 2021
- Disney Junior HD, Disney Channel HD and Disney Channel officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on New Year's Day (1 January) 2021 at midnight stroke due to the television provider's refreshed Kids Pack on 14 December 2020 and the officially grand launching and launching ceremony of Disney+ Hotstar in Malaysia on 1 June 2021 and were replaced by Nick Jr. HD and Boomerang HD which launched on the same date. Disney XD HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on New Year's Day (1 January) 2021 at midnight due to the review of Disney's business in this region and was replaced by TA-DAA! HD on 15 March 2021. These are the second Kids channels and the first HD Kids channels to be ceased on Astro.
- Comedy Central Asia HD (717) ceased broadcasting on 1 February 2021, surviving for barely 13 months after launch because it ceased to broadcast in Asia, but its VOD service and the Astro GO app continued reserved until 31 December 2021. It was replaced by BBC Lifestyle HD on the same channel number on 15 September of the same year.
- Almost all SD channels in Astro officially ceased broadcasting and transmission due to most channels being fully switched to all HD channels on 28 February 2021 at 11:59:59pm.
- Astro Awani launches the HD version of their channel on 29 March 2021. While the upgrade from SD to HD is made available for all Astro customers, NJOI customers will still continue to enjoy the channel in SD version on different channel number and HD version are made optional by purchasing the HD pack.
- ANIPLUS HD on Astro Go ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 April 2021 due to low viewership but its VOD service continued reserved until 11 April 2021.
- When Astro launched their new NJOI HD subscription-based package for NJOI customers on 28 April 2021, the HD version of Astro Prima, Astro Oasis, Astro Vaanavil, Astro Xiao Tai Yang, Astro AEC, CCTV-4, Astro Awani, Hello channel HD, eGG Network HD and Astro Arena can be only be enabled via HD Pack while retaining their SD version of these channels which are reassigned at different channel number.
- Astro TVIQ was officially upgraded from SD to HD on 25 May 2021 and made available for all Astro customers.
- Astro Box Office Tayangan Hebat HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 June 2021, but its VOD service and the Astro GO app continued reserved.
- TVB News Channel HD was officially discontinued and terminated on 1 July 2021, barely one year after launch due to copyright problems. TVB News Channel HD programs on TVB Jade HD continued to be reserved at 7:00am, 6:30pm and 11:00pm until Astro launched TVB Anywhere+ application on 13 September 2021.
- All The Walt Disney Company, FOX Networks Group Asia Pacific channels (except STAR Chinese Channel HD, National Geographic HD, Nat Geo WILD HD and BabyTV HD) officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 30 September 2021 at 11:59:59pm and were replaced by Astro SuperSport 5 HD, Astro Arena 2 HD (Channel 802) and SPOTV HD due to the officially grand launching and launching ceremony of Disney+ Hotstar in Malaysia on 1 June 2021. The FOX Sports HD channels are the first Sports channels to officially cease broadcasting and transmission on Astro.
- Hello HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 30 September 2021 at 11:59:59pm and was replaced by Lifetime HD and PRIMEtime HD which were officially opened and launched on 15 September 2021 and Discovery Science HD ceased broadcasting and transmission at the same date due to review of the channel performance and replaced by BBC Earth HD. They were the first Learning channels to be ceased on Astro. On the same date, ART Variety was officially replaced with ART Movies before officially ceasing broadcasting and transmission on 1 June 2022.
- RugbyPass TV HD was officially rebranded to Premier Sports HD on 9 December 2021.
- Animax HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on New Year's Eve (31 December) 2021 at 11:59:59pm due to low popularity but its VOD service continued reserved until 31 March 2022, In Addition the Anime programming Will carried on Netflix & iQIYI for Ultra Box only.
- 2022
- Astro TVIQ HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on Chinese New Year’s Eve (31 January) 2022 at 11:59:59pm when TA-DAA! HD launched on 15 March 2021 at 8:00am with the shows from the now-defunct channel carried by Astro Ceria HD and TA-DAA! HD.
- BabyTV HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on Chinese New Year’s Eve (31 January) 2022 at 11:59:59pm, with shows from the channel officially moved to Disney+ Hotstar in Malaysia. In turn, the channel slot was officially replaced by Moonbug Kids HD.
- Naura HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 31 January 2022 at 11:59:59pm because due to Naura content on its Astro GO app and its VOD service continued reserved.
- STAR Chinese Channel HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on the Chinese New Year’s Eve (31 January) 2022 at 11:59:59pm. While the shows from that channel will be carried through Disney+ Hotstar in Malaysia, it also was officially replaced by Phoenix Chinese Channel HD and Phoenix InfoNews Channel HD in Malaysia.
- Astro Tutor TV PT3 and Astro Tutor TV SPM will merge into a single channel named Astro Tutor TV SMK HD on channel 603 starting 1 April 2022. Astro Tutor TV PT3 cease transmission and Astro Tutor TV SPM rebranded as Astro Tutor TV SMK HD On the same day, TVBS News HD, Astro AOD 353, Astro AOD 355 and Makkal TV ceased transmission and Astro Tutor TV SK and OKEY will be upgraded to HD on channels 601 and 146.
- Astro Vellithirai on Astro GO ceased transmission on 14 April 2022 at 1:00am, with the channel upgraded to HD on the same day.
- Oh!K HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 31 May 2022 when K-PLUS HD became available on Astro channel 396, along with ART Movies.
- KIX HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2022 at 12:59:15am.
- Chutti TV officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 13 October 2022 and was replaced by Sun News HD, KTV HD and Sun Life HD.
- 2023
- eGG Network HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 23 January 2023 while retaining their social media pages. Programs carried by that channel and esports content were transferred to Astro Arena HD and Astro Arena 2 HD.
- National Geographic HD and Nat Geo WILD HD ceased broadcasts on 1 February 2023. While the programs hosted from both channels can be streamed in Disney+ Hotstar, their channel slots were replaced by Global Trekker HD, Love Nature 4K and Love Nature HD on 15 January 2023.
- Boomerang HD and TA-DAA! HD channel ceased broadcasts on 1 February 2023. TA-DAA! HD channel slots were replaced by DreamWorks Channel HD on the same day.
- Go Shop GAAYA HD Ceased Transmission On 1 March 2023.
- Astro Box Office BollyOne HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 30 April 2023 and was replaced by Zee Cinema HD.
- NJOI Channel ceased transmission on 13 June 2023.
- Astro SuperSport 5 HD ceased broadcasting & transmission on 15 July and were replaced by W-Sport HD on the same day.
- Astro Best service ceased its service on 23 August 2023, it had migrated to Astro First.
- Astro Shuang Xing HD ceased broadcasting & transmission on 27 August 2023 and Astro Quan Jia HD was renamed to Astro QJ HD starting on 28 August 2023.
- SHOWCASE Movies HD was renamed to SHOWCASE HD, while PRIMEtime HD ceased transmission on 4 September 2023.
- Astro Xiao Tai Yang HD cease transmission and was transitioned to its VOD service on 4 September 2023. Selected programs will be broadcast on Astro AEC HD the following morning.
- Astro Tutor TV SK HD and Astro Tutor TV SMK HD merged into a single channel named Astro Tutor TV HD on channel 603 starting 4 September 2023.
- All Go Shop HD Channels (111, 118 And 303) Ceased Transmission On 11 October 2023 Due To Shopping Trends Declined.
- 2024
- Paramount Network HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 April 2024 and replaced by HITS Now HD. As part of TVB's restructuring, Astro AOD 352 and 354, TVB Magic HD ceased broadcasting and the TVBAnywhere+ application was removed on the same date as well.
Former Unifi TV channels
- 2012
- tvN HD rebranded as Channel M HD on 23 November 2012 and rebranded back as tvN HD on 3 June 2016.
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- Red FM and Capital FM ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 January 2016.
- Discovery Kids ceased broadcasting and transmission on 16 January 2016.
- Fashion TV HD, ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 May 2016.
- Hikmah, replaced by Hypp Salam HD on 5 June 2016.
- Now Hairun, Rebranded As Now Chinese Drama HD on 14 June 2016.
- All Astro Channels (Astro SuperSport HD,Astro SuperSport 2 HD,Astro Vaanavil,Astro Oasis,Astro Awani and not owned By Astro Channel Makkal TV) ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 August 2016.
- Dushh FM ceased broadcasting and transmission on 5 November 2016.
- TV Direct SHOWCASE ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 December 2016.
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020
- Now Baogu Movies HD transited to its VOD service on 1 March 2020.
- UTV Movies ceased broadcasting and transmission at midnight, on 1 July 2020. Replaced by Yupp Thirai HD.
- Animax HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2020 due to the low popularity of Animax HD, but relaunched on 1 October 2021.
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
- CinemaWorld HD ceased broadcast and transmission on 1 January 2024. Replaced by HITS Now HD.
- Paramount Network HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 April 2024.
Former Tonton Live TV channels
Former HBO GO live TV channels
- 2021
- RED by HBO HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2021 due to lack of advertisements.
Former MYTV Mana Mana live TV channels
Other pay television providers
- 2001
- Mega TV ceased transmission on 1 October 2001.
- 2016
- eTV ceased transmission on 29 February 2016.
- ABNXcess ceased transmission in 2016.
- Fine TV
Former Malaysian Channels From Other Countries
TV channels
- 1999
- MetroVision ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 November 1999 but relaunched as 8TV on 8 January 2004.
- 2005
- Channel 9 was for a hiatus on 1 February 2005. Replaced by TV9 on 22 April 2006.
- 2008
- 2009
- RTMi was replaced with Muzik Aktif due to its relaunch on 16 March 2009.
- 2011
- Muzik Aktif was replaced with TVi due to its relaunch on 11 April 2011.
- 2012
- tvN, changed its name with Channel M on 23 November 2012, on 1 June 2016, the channel reverted into current name.
- WBC, closed down since October 2012 due to financial problems.[9]
- 2017
- Hao Xiang Shopping Channel ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2017, replaced by LAKU Mall on 1 June 2017.[10]
- 2018
- TVi was replaced with TV OKEY due to its relaunch on 21 March 2018.[11]
- 2019
- CJ Wow Shop ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 January 2019. Later, CJ Wow Shop officially broadcasting and transmission restore resume again from 15 April 2019 (excluding Unifi TV).
- Channel W was discontinued on 1 April 2019, replaced by TVS at myFreeview on 6 February 2021.
- 2022
- Astro GO Shop (Malay) officially ceased broadcasting and transmission in myFreeview on 19 June 2022.
- Wow Shop (Chinese) officially ceased broadcasting and transmission in myFreeview on 2 November 2022.
- 2023
- Wow Shop (Malay) officially ceased broadcasting and transmission in myFreeview on 8 November 2023.
References
- ^ DTVE Reporter (19 December 2019). "Malaysia completes DTT switchover, launches myFreeview". Digital TV Europe.
- ^ Sofia Digital (17 December 2019). "Malaysia completes switch-over to digital TV powered by Sofia Digital's DVB head-end technology". sofiadigital.com.
- ^ KKMM (12 August 2020). "Bernama : 12 Aug 2020 : Parliament: MYTV monitors quality of digital TV broadcast". kkmm.gov.my.
- ^ Awesome TV official website
- ^ "Suke TV Official website".
- ^ TV Alhijrah official website
- ^ Bernama TV Page
- ^ TVS Official website
- ^ Mohsin Abdullah (19 October 2012). "WBC employees seek HR ministry's help". Fz.com.
- ^ enjoytvmy. "enjoytvmy". Facebook.com.
- ^ Zam Yusa (21 March 2018). "Najib launches new TV channel for Sabah and Sarawak". Free Malaysia Today.
Further reading
