Astro Is About To Face Some Serious Competition From This New Cable TV Company
Astro has monopolised the local satellite pay-TV scene for the past 20 years.
By John Lim — 17 Aug 2017, 01:15 PM
After two decades of exclusivity as the sole satellite pay-TV provider in Malaysia, Astro will soon face competition from a new cable TV operator
Citing sources from Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB), The Star reported that the new cable TV operator called Ansa Broadcast is in the midst of kickstarting a new satellite pay TV service in Malaysia.
The company, previously known as U Television, is a subsidiary of the Berjaya group.
Ansa Broadcast's emergence will put Astro under pressure since the company's exclusive satellite broadcasting rights came to an end in February this year
"While details remain scarce, we understand that Ansa is currently deciding which satellite solution to adopt, either to lease bandwidth from operators or launch its own satellite.
If it materialises, Astro will face the pressure that has been absent for past 20 years with Ansa’s entrance as a new DHT satellite player," HLIB told The Star.
HLIB also noted that Ansa Broadcast can disrupt the market by offering aggressive pricing and content variances
It also noted that that the weak ringgit will drive up content cost for Astro as most of its content is sourced internationally.
"Astro is facing dismal advertising expenditure growth due to weak consumer sentiment," HLIB said.
This is not the first time Berjaya has tried venturing into the satellite TV industry
Launched by former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2015, MiTV offered users 30 channels, comprising of entertainment, lifestyle, as well as international news. A year later, MiTV was rebranded to U Television.
Unfortunately, the service didn't take off. But it seems that Berjaya is giving this a go once more since Ansa Broadcast was previously known as U Television.