ASTRO MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BERHAD

Introduction

Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad is categorized as a trade service company. Relisted on Bursa
Malaysia on October 2012, Astro Malaysia Holdings is currently the largest direct-to-home
(DTH) satellite Pay-TV provider. Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad is a leading integrated
consumer media entertainment group in Malaysia and Southeast Asia with operations in 4 key
areas of business, namely Pay-TV, Radio, Publications and Digital Media. Astro Holdings Sdn
Bhd is a company incorporated in Malaysia with its principal place of business at the
Administration Building of the All Asia Broadcast Centre, located in Technology Park Malaysia.

The company is dedicated and engaged in content creation, aggregation and distribution
activities, including the provision of direct-to-home subscription television, radio broadcasting
services, library licensing, multimedia interactive service, magazine publishing, Malaysian film
production, talent management, creation of computer animation, interactive content and
television content distribution.

With a customer base estimated of 3.1 mil residential customers or 60% penetration of
Malaysian TV households, Astro offers 188 TV channels, including 68 Astro-created and
branded channels and 22 HD channels, delivered via Direct-To-Home satellite TV, IPTV and
OTT platforms. Astro provides HD, 3D, PVR, VOD and IPTV services through Astro B.yond
and Astro On-The-Go. Fulfilling its promise to bridge the digital divide for all of Malaysia,
Astro introduced Njoi as an entry-level DTH satellite TV service and is the country’s first non-
subscription based satellite TV, offering 18 TV and 19 radio channels.
History

Twenty two years ago, Astro started beaming signals across a footprint that centred on Malaysia.
It was days after Measat-1 was thrusted into orbit from French Guyana in South America in
1996. The event marked an major milestone in Malaysia's broadcasting journey. Astro, then
known as Astro All Asia Networks plc, became the country's first satellite pay TV operator
offering 36 pay TV and radio channels. Choices were limited then as there were only free-to-air
channels and the only pay TV operator then was Mega TV but its coverage was limited and
content still much to be desired. It no longer exists.

Very quickly Astro ruled living rooms in Malaysia and today it has 3 million or 50% market
share of the 6 million TV households. It was first listed on Bursa Malaysia at RM3.65 a share
and its first day at trading was a roaring success. For its new listing yesterday which comes nine
years after its first listing, Astro raised US$1.5bil or RM4.55bil for its IPO and it was the
country's third largest IPO and sixth largest globally. In 2003, Astro raised RM2.03bil. The
company that was listed before was supposed to build a business in South-East Asia. It had
assets in Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, the Middle East and Malaysia. It began creating its own
Malaysian content and today boasts a library of 40,000 hours of local content. It also started
beaming channels into Indonesia and boasted of operations in some other countries.

But things did not pan out as planned. In no time, its overseas ventures turned sour, some
dragging Astro into court. To remove the distractions, Astro went into hibernation, it was taken
private in 2010 and its shareholders including elusive billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan offered
RM4.30 a share. Astro then had a market capitalisation of RM8.3bil and today it has doubled to
RM15.59bil.

Astro launched the first High Definition (HD) broadcast in Malaysia in December 2009 under
the brand Astro B.yond. For financial year ended Jan 31, 2010 Astro earned RM613mil in net
profit and RM3.2bil revenue.

Following the launch of HD, Astro B.yond PVR (Personal Video Recorder) was introduced in
June 2010 and Astro B.yond IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) in April 2011. On December
2011, the Prime Minister announced that government will collaborate with Astro to provide free
satellite television to customers. NJOI were launched on 18 February 2012. The People’s
Choice, Astro was awarded the “Brand of the Year” award at Malaysia’s Putra Brand Awards
2012. The award is recognition of Astro’s efforts to exemplify innovation, quality and strong
corporate social responsibilities.

Astro may have gone public once again but it has a daunting task in fighting new rivals that were
not there when it started 22 years ago.
Timeline History

1996 The Astro subscription service begins and named ASTRO All Asia Network plc
was incorporated in England and Wales, and Japan.
1997 Achieved Multimedia Super Corridor status.

2003 Astro acquired Celestial Pictures and Philippine-based animation studio.

The company acquired Time Highway Radio radio network, which is Malaysia's
private Indian radio station. Astro launched Malaysia's first subscription IPTV
April, 2005 channels based on content licensed from Goal TV (English Premier League Soccer

club TV for Liverpool, Chelsea and others) and Akademi Fantasia, a localised
version of an Endemol's Fame Academy.

June, 2005 Astro acquired Yes Television (Hong Kong) Limited and Goal TV Asia Limited to
distribute broadband and broadcast content in the region.
Rohana Rozhan CFO of AAAN elected as CEO of the Astro Malaysia and Brunei-
2006 based pay TV businesses andAstro launches Astro MAX, Malaysia's first PVR
service.
Astro launches VoD services, adding Hong Kong TVB dramas to on-demand

2007 content. (Astro On Demand is not a real VoD service as customers cannot request
for videos at any time, but can follow multi-broadcasting during a certain period of
the day on different channels)

April, 2008 Astro cảm xúc was first launched in Vietnam as a product between HTVC and
Astro. Six months later, Astro cảm xúc appeared on Vietnam Cable Television.
AAAN was de-listed from the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad
June, 2010 following a successful take-over offer by Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd and company
name has been changed to Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd

2011 Established ASTRO Malaysia Holdings Berhad as preparation for re-list to the
Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.
2012 ASTRO Malaysia Holdings Berhad listed to the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia
STRATEGIES

Presently, Astro has firmly established itself as a leading media conglomerate in Malaysia with
188 TV channels and 19 radio stations. Digitalization has been Astro’s strategy in defending its
leadership in pay TV and content creation in Malaysia against the Internet as the biggest rival as
it allows for telecom companies to be broadcasters overnight. Services such as Netflix, Google
and even smartphones such as the iPhone are giving viewers a new window at a click of a button.

People can download movies and songs for a fee or free. Astro as a product was also repeating
too many programmes and it had to change and evolve to remain relevant because of the
proliferation of the Internet in people's lives. This is despite the fact that, Astro has a strong
content provision as it holds rights to the Barclays Premier League (BPL) and has developed
local content such as Akademi Fantasia, Masterchef Malaysia and the Raja Lawak competitions
and this ensured customer loyalty

The company is experimenting with new packaging and tiers, while also investing in a new cycle
of premium Asian content through various partnerships. These will take in Korea, China and
Southeast Asia, in addition to a continued focus on domestic content. Nonetheless, as the
company moves more aggressively on mobile distribution inside Malaysia and across Southeast
Asia, recalibrating its tech strategy while scaling investment in next-generation set-tops will also
be critical.

Moving forward, Astro is ready to scale its products and services regionally into the ASEAN
market.

These initiatives include:

1. Go Shop

On November 1, 2014, Astro soft-launched Go Shop which operates Malay and Chinese home-
shopping channels. Since its maiden launch, Astro has recorded 912 thousand customers and
sold over 1.5 Million products.
In October 2016, Astro incorporated a 60%-owned subsidiary, Astro GS Shop Singapore Pte Ltd,
to undertake a Mandarin-based home- shopping channel in Singapore. This is a partnership with
StarHub and the shopping channel will be aired on StarHub Channel 110.

2. Tribe

Astro launched Tribe, its first mobile-first regional OTT streaming app, in Indonesia with XL
Axiata in March 2016 and in the Philippines with Globe Telecom in December 2016.

Tribe provides live and on-demand content for Korean entertainment fans, sports fans, and Asian
movie buffs. This includes Oh!K, KBS, K-Plus, TvN, and Fox Sports channels for a monthly
subscription of IDR15,000 (approx.. RM4.86) in Indonesia and PHP69 (approx. RM6.00) in the
Philippines. Since March 2016, Tribe has already recorded over 1 million downloads in
Indonesia and the Philippines.

3. eGG Network

In April 2016, Astro launched eGG (Every Good Game) Network. It is the first e-sports HD
channel in Southeast Asia. eGG broadcasts electronic game tournaments live around the world.
These tournaments include Dota 2, FIFA Interactive World Cup, Counter-Strike and Street
Fighter V.

In December 2016, Astro launched eGG Network in Australia via Fetch TV. It is also the first e-
sports and gaming entertainment channel to be made available in Australia. As a result, eGG
Network is now available in Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. Astro plans to make eGG
Network available in the Philippines.
THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

In Malaysia, most households are willing to subscribe to Astro as it provides a wider selection of
both local and foreign TV channels which are more entertaining, upbeat, and relevant to
contemporary tastes and lifestyles. Gone are the days of “controlled media” and lackluster TV
programmes. Today, with Astro, Malaysian are now pampered with myriad choices of TV
programmes to watch. Indeed, Astro has revolutionized daily entertainment in Malaysia. Whilst
there are many advantages that could drive Astro to evolve better in future, there are also
possible disadvantages ahead. Here's why:

Key Opportunities

1. The Need For More Content

With easier access to entertainment such as music and video program, there is a need for more
content in the production business. Astro, being one of the largest production house in the
country, stands to be well positioned to feed that content demand to the public.

2. Growing Economy Of Malaysia

Malaysia is still one of the fastest growing countries in the region. Combining that with a young
population and a relatively low GDP per capita, the demand for entertainment will increase once
the population becomes wealthier. Advertising budgets from its corporate clients should
increase as well with a growing economy.

3. Digital Growth

The company is creating more online platforms to suit the changing demographics. The
company digital platforms such as Astro on Demand and Astro on the Go are seeing higher
engagement. More importantly, with digital platforms, the company can gain access to
audiences outside of Malaysia.
4. A Wider Market

Addressing the high end customers by giving them super value packs and video on demand,
segmentising and focusing on what each person in the household needs is the new way of doing
things at Astro. It has by now different platforms satellite, fibre, mobile and Internet to reach out
to a wider audience.

Key Risk

1. Digital Threat

The digital transformation of content consumption is both an opportunity and a risk. The risk
being as more and more people are accessing content through the internet, the need for viewing it
from a local provider diminish. Just as Astro is able to attract new digital audiences outside of
Malaysia, foreign companies can also gain access to Malaysian viewers from their online
platform. The choices available for the consumers increase dramatically and the competition for
the attention of audience will be much greater for Astro in the future.

2. The Decline Of Pay-TV And Radio

As viewers have more options for entertainment in the future due to the availability of the
internet, the demand for Pay-TV and radio might drop significantly in the future. After all, why
would one pay for content when you can get it for free or cheaper over the internet? Likewise, if
you can stream your favourite music over the internet without commercial interruptions, would
you still see the need to listen to the radio? As newer vehicles are launched with wifi
connectivity, the broadcasting business might need to transform itself as well.
 REFERENCES

About Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad

https://corporate.astro.com.my/our-company/about-us

Astro Malaysia Holding Berhad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_Malaysia_Holdings

Astro Malaysia Holdings CEO Talks Content Strategy And Importance Of Corporate
Diversity

https://variety.com/2018/tv/awards/astro-malaysia-holdings-dato-rohana-rozhan-interview-
1202740769/

New Challenges With Onset Of Technology

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/06/11/new-challenges-with-onset-of-
technology/

Astro Eyes 16 Million New Users Via Fierce Digital Expansion

http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/astro-eyes-16-million-new-users-fierce-digital-expansion