MALAYSIA'S 1ST MULTILLINGUAL TV GUIDE FROM ASTRO

Astro today introduced the next generation multilingual TV Guide, the first of its kind in Malaysia, which will be available to all Astro B.yond customers in phases nationwide beginning 24 February 2014 onwards.

Ean of Hitz.fm emceeing the event

Liew Swee Lin, Chief Commercial Officer of Astro said, “At Astro, we recognize ours is a journey to be better, to evolve, and to embrace innovation in every aspect of our business to be our customers' brand of choice. Astro’s brand promise is to continuously invest in our infrastructure, technology and content and evolve our value proposition to bring the best of entertainment experience to our customers and viewers. As part of Astro’s key milestone, we are pleased today to introduce the next generation multilingual TV Guide for a more personalized and improved viewing experience as well as to provide seamless integration from TV to Astro on the Go (AOTG) for our customers.”

Customers and viewers will notice a new programming guide and Astro-on-the-Go with a fresh look and feel, as well as features that will enable a more personalised and localised TV experience that engages them in the language of their choice. The new EPG will make it even easier for the customers to find and watch the content they want, at the time of their choosing – LIVE, recorded on their PVR or in our thousands of hours of on demand content. Among the key features of the new TV Guide they will enjoy are:-

·         A Multilingual Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) to provide a richer and more meaningful experience for customers who prefer to find and watch their favourite programmes in a preferred language, whether in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin or Tamil.

·         A Video On Demand (VOD) catalogue that enables better browsing and search capabilities according to genre, title, season and episode, providing customers with more control and choice over how they enjoy entertainment.

·         An improved recording experience which allows customers with connected PVRs, to manage and browse their PVR recordings and VOD purchases, all from one place. Customers will be able to view all recorded episodes from a series, filter and arrange titles according to date and season, as well as lock their library of recordings to prevent accidental deletion.

·         An enhanced and more capable Search engine for easy navigation and content discovery, where recordings or titles are categorised according to language, year of release,broadcast date and time as well as filter and sort items according to alphabetical order, recorded duration, expiry, and more.

Brian Lenz, Chief Innovation Officer at Astro added, “Astro continues to invest in our customers by giving them more content choices and a best in class entertainment experience. Today our VOD service offers close to 5,000 and growing titles ranging across movies, dramas, documentaries and more. As our VOD content increases, alongside more recorded programmes from the better and better content on our channels, our new multilingual EPG will simplify the navigation, thus enabling our customers to browse easily within their personal e-DVD store to find the programmes they want to watch.

We have over 470,000 PVR customers as at end October 2013.  With all the improvements to the EPG, we expect to see an upward trend in ‘time shift’ viewing among our customers, as they take control of the TV schedule to record more programmes for watching at their convenience. Additionally, the clean integration of On Demand into the experience will encourage more customers to connect their box to their broadband service to take advantage of the wide library of catch up and Pay per View titles available to them.”

Brian Lenz, Chief  Innovation Officer, Astro & Liew Swee Lin, Chief Commercial Officer, Astro at the launch

Astro is increasingly delivering content to any screen a customer has available to them via Astro on the Go, with over 700k downloads of the service and a 75% increase in registered subscribers year on year. On an average, an Astro customer spends approximately 72 minutes weekly on AOTG, a 100% increase in time spent watching videos online over last year. In order to harmonise the viewing experience for customers across all screens, Astro has extended the same look and feel of our next gen TV Guide to Astro on the Go. AOTG users will enjoy the multilingual EPG, easy access to live sports, On Demand TV and movies in addition to the 30 linear channels currently available. It will also now be even easier to access AOTG content, where users can start watching selected content from our NJOI offering for free without registering, thus simulating higher interest in the service.

The latest TV guide will be automatically downloaded to all Astro B.yond set top boxes in phases, from 24 February 2014. Astro B.yond customers are advised leave their set top boxes on standby mode to receive the software update. Please visit www.astro.com.my/epg or tune into Channel 100 (starting 22 February) for step by step tutorials on the new EPG. For more information on Astro on the Go, please visit www.astro.com.my/onthego

OH MY ENGLISH! TELEMOVIE "HELLO AMERICA!"

Astro is pleased to usher in the New Year with a brand new Oh My English telemovie filmed in the United States of America.  Titled "Oh My English! - Hello America", the special telemovie will premiere on 15th January 2014 (Wednesday) at 9pm on Astro TVIQ (Astro channel 610) and in High Definition (HD) on Astro Maya HD (Astro channel 135).

Oh My English! was the recipient of a grant from the US Department of State and the Embassy of the United States of America in Malaysia, which enabled the team to film overseas for the first time. Fans of the show are in for a real treat as the new telemovie will feature their favourite Oh My English cast members on an exciting and humourous journey as they discover and experience America for the first time.  What's more, viewers will be able to improve their English as they enjoy the hilarious adventure, since the telemovie will offer the same fun-learning approach seen in the TV series.

The new US-based telemovie comes hot off the heels of the first Oh My English telemovie, "Oh My Ganu", which enjoyed a tremendous response, winning 1.1 million viewers on its premiere night alone, and ranking as the number one trending topic on Twitter in Malaysia.

In the latest 'Oh My English! - Hello America' telemovie, the story begins when the school, SMK Ayer Dalam emerge as the winners of a short film competition and the prize is a trip to the United States of America. The students and their beloved teachers travel across continents to New York for the trip of a lifetime, visiting an American high school, playing American football and visiting world-famous locations such as Times Square and the Statue of Liberty.  What starts out as a dream trip soon becomes a nightmare when a couple of students get lost and accidentally end up in Washington DC, separated hundreds of kilometres away from their teachers and fellow students in New York. The lost students have until the end of the day to get back to New York or they will miss their flight back to Malaysia.  Will they make it back on time? Will their teachers be able to find the students? Will they be able overcome language and cultural barriers as they are forced to put their English language skills to the test?

Fans of Oh My English! will be thrilled to know that many of their favourite characters will be featured in the new telemovie, such as Henry Middleton (Zain Saidin), Cikgu Ayu (Tiz Zaqyah), Cikgu Malik (Aaron Aziz) Encik Mohd Salleh (Harun Salim Bachik), Azlin (Izara Aishah), See Yew Soon (Roax Tan), Jibam (Akhmal Nazri), Mazlee (Zhafir Muzani) and Anusha (Kaameshaa Ravindran). The show's guest stars include Nadia Aqila as Jibam's sister; Kuah Jen Han as a fellow traveller, and a host of other appearances from US actors.

Putri Yasmin Megat Zaharuddin, the Vice President of Astro's GenNext business said, "We received an overwhelming response to our very first Oh My English telemovie 'Oh My Ganu'.  Besides trending at number one on Twitter, the telemovie is Astro's most watched HD movie of 2013. Our fans come from all walks of life and their support has been amazing. This brand new US telemovie called 'Oh My English! - Hello America' is our way of giving back to the fans for their unwavering support. We would like to invite our fans to join the cast on a journey of discovery of America."

"On behalf of Astro, I would like to thank the US Department of State and the US Embassy for their tremendous support and partnership which made the filming of the telemovie in the United States possible.  It has been a pleasure working with them and we hope this is the beginning of future collaborations. I would also like to thank our sponsor Vitagen, which has been supporting Oh My English! since its first season and is also the official sponsor of 'Oh My

English! - Hello America'.  Last but not least, I would like to express my appreciation to the entire cast of Oh My English! and to Lina Tan and her team at Red Communications, the producers of this telemovie."

His Excellecy Ambassador Jospeh Y.Yun, US Ambassador to Malaysia said “We are proud to collaborate with Astro and Red Communications on this exciting project.  English language skills are critically important in today’s globalized world.  The United States Government is committed to fostering English language education in Malaysia and around the world.”

Be sure to catch 'Oh My English - Hello America' on 15th of January 2014 (Wednesday) at 9pm on Astro TVIQ (Astro channel 610) and in High Definition (HD) on Astro Maya HD (Astro channel 135). 

ASTRO ARENA BRINGS LIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE 2013 SEA GAMES MYANMAR

In line with the tagline Nadi Sukan Malaysia, Astro Arena (Ch 801) brings you LIVE and comprehensive coverage of the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, which starts from  8^th – 22^nd December 2013.

Malaysian sports fans can catch the excitement all the way from Myanmar, as Astro Arena is the one and only sports channel that will provide comprehensive live coverage of our national athletes at the 2013 SEA Games, with the latest updates up to 12 hours every day – providing fans with the best viewing experience.

Azmy Abdul Rahman, Channel Manager of Astro Arena said, “I am sure many Malaysians Sports fans will look forward to the upcoming SEA Games this year. Astro Arena remains committed in providing comprehensive coverage of the 27^th Edition of the SEA Games Myanmar, which brings the theme of Green, Clean & Friendship. The previous 2011 SEA Games in Palembang recorded a high viewership of 1.6 mil for the final football match between Malaysia and Indonesia, which truly reflects the fans support for the Malaysian team.  

We are committed in ensuring that all our customers nationwide can experience together the thrill and excitements, of the many sporting events that our national athletes are taking part-in this year. At Astro Arena, we strive to provide fans with accurate and concise information with the latest development of the Malaysian team. Our dedication is evident as Astro Arena has the biggest media contingent from Malaysia with 40 crews departing for Myanmar to cover the SEA Games.

In order to provide the latest information and LIVE reviews, Astro Arena Sports anchors, Akbar Sahari, Hafizal Hamad and Shaukei Kahar will be stationed in Myanmar to bring fans the latest coverage from 25 dedicated sporting locations, which include Wunna Theikdi Stadium, Zeyar Thiri Stadium, Aung San Stadium, Theinphyu Stadium, Mandalar Thiri Football Stadium, Thuwana National Sport Complex and Myanmar Convention Centre.

In conjunction with the 2013 SEA Games, Malaysian fans can also catch more of the SEA Games on the temporary dedicated channel on Astro channel 802 as well. Malaysian true sports fans can catch all 11 contingents which include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Timor-Leste as they compete for the 460 gold medals over 34 respective sports categories via our program entitled ‘Bingkisan Sukan SEA 2013’.

That’s not all. As an added value for customers, the 2013 SEA Games will be available on the TV screens at home as well as on lap top, tablets and smartphones anytime, anywhere via Astro On-The-Go.

The football 1^st kick-off from group A which include our beloved Malaysian team is also the opening of the 27th Edition of SEA Games. Be sure to catch the full LIVE coverage of all football matches exclusively om Astro Arena, starting from 8th December and show your support to Datuk Ong Kim Swee’s team, ‘Harimau Muda’.

Besides football, fans can catch other major SEA Games Sporting events including athletics, aquatic, sepak takraw, body building and more. Astro Arena will continue to update the latest information and results of the various sporting categories through the news coverage network that will be aired daily at 1 pm (15 minutes), 7.30 pm (30 minutes) and 11 pm (30 minutes). Also, Nadi Arena will bring you the latest updates hourly everyday daily, as well as the full daily report highlights live at 11.30 pm.

For the fastest, latest, concise and precise coverage of the 2013 SEA Games Myanmar, be sure to tune in to Astro Arena (Ch 801) starting from 8^th December 2013 and show your support towards our Malaysian team.

ASTRO RADIO IS NO. 1!!!!

Astro Radio retained its leadership position as Malaysia’s No.1 radio operator with a weekly listener base of 12.2 million, according to the recent Nielsen Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) survey results.

From a rankings perspective, the survey result confirmed Astro Radio’s continued dominance as ‘king of radio’ with ERA fm at No.1, THR (Raaga & Gegar) at No.2 and SINAR fm at No.3.

ERA fm, hitz.fm, MY FM and THR Raaga continue their reign as the No.1 radio stations in the Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil language respectively. Astro Radio’s THR Gegar also retains the No.1 radio station position in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which includes the states of Kelantan, Terengganu & Pahang.

Despite a sharp decline in audience reach for the overall English language segment, Astro Radio’s English radio stations (hitz.fm, MIX fm and LiteFM) maintained its stronghold with a 79% share of this segment. Both ERA fm and THR (Raaga & Gegar) reported an increase in weekly listenership with a total of 4.7 million and 3.7 million respectively. Astro Radio’s newest Chinese-language radio station, MELODY FM, recorded a 196% growth in its cumulative listenership from 134,000 to 397,000, since its inception in August 2012. MELODY FM’S Exclusive Audience also grew a staggering 219% during the same period.

Dr Jake Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of Astro Radio said “The market is becoming increasingly challenging with media consumption fragmentation and rapidly evolving technology. The key to Astro Radio’s success is and has always been about putting our listeners at the core of everything that we do. We invest in regular research to get to the heart of what our listeners want to hear, how they want to hear it and where they want it. It’s a continuous process of evolution. Resting on our laurels is never an option”.

“We would like to thank our sponsors, partners and advertisers for their continued trust and confidence in Astro Radio. As part of our go beyond strategy, we will continue to provide our listeners with a best-in-class entertainment experience irrespective of platform. Today, listeners can access Astro Radio 24/7 on the go through our mobile apps and web players, making it truly accessible anywhere, anytime for anybody.” he added. 

HITZ.FM BIRTHDAY INVASION BASH...SPECIAL GUEST (CHESTER SEE)

Salivate over these pictures by Chester See...I know you want it...writeup comes later....

Check out one of his performance at the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOPI9oswXsM