Astro All Asia eyes under catered markets in Asia

Pravin Mendis

Astro All Asia Networks, the media and TV production arm of the Usaha Tegas Group run by Malaysian business tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan is planning to introduce this business model to other under catered markets in neighbouring countries.

The Astro Group is a subsidiary of the Usaha Tegas Group which brought the NTT shares of the Sri Lanka Telecom. Its other subsidiary Maxis is the leading telecommunications player in Malaysia.

The Maxis Group hopes to roll out a comprehensive package and strategic management of Sri Lanka Telecom once the mandatory offer of SLT is complete by June 2.

Astro's Executive Deputy Chairman Augustus Ralph Marshall told shareholders of the company that the Asian region continues to provide immense relatively untapped opportunities.

"In today's relentless world of constant change, we need to stay relevant, and ahead of industry developments. We will respond to competitive distribution platforms such as Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), broadband and a stronger consolidated Free-To-Air offering," Marshall said in his review to shareholders.

"Indeed, it is for this very reason that we are seeking shareholders' approval to expand our regional footprint to India, one of the world's fastest growing consumer market and a much under-penetrated market for pay-TV," Marshall said.

The Group is seeking to increase its participation in large under-penetrated economies that will benefit from the anticipated liberalisation of the media industry and the fast-growing consumer sector, particularly in developing regions.

The Astro-branded subscription pay-TV service is currently available in Indonesia to over 140,000 subscribers, under a trademark licence agreement.

ASTRO has also invested in a joint venture to provide DTH satellite services in India. The Group is engaged in studio infrastructure and airtime sales and programming services for two radio stations in Kalkata, India, and is now looking to introduce this business model into other under-catered markets in neighbouring regions.

Astro is Malaysia's leading cross-media group with a significant presence in operations in 1996 with 22 channels and currently broadcasts over 100 pay-TV channels across Malaysia and Brunei, to more than 2.2 million subscribers in four major languages.

Its state-of-the-art digital broadcast facilities at the All Asia Broadcast Centre and at the Cyberjaya multiplex have capability for digital TV, radio and data services on satellite and terrestrial broadcast networks, wireless telephony and the Internet.

ASTRO's subsidiary, MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems, enjoys an exclusive licence till 2017 for satellite DTH transmission in Malaysia.

The Group is actively involved in origination, aggregation and distribution of content in Malay, Chinese, English and Indian languages, addition to third party content.

With over 28,000 first run hours of original multi-language content, the Astro Entertainment Network (AEN) encompasses 27 television channels across various genres, with plans to increase these in the near future to serve an ever evolving customer profile.

The Group operates eight FM terrestrial radio stations in Malaysia, which include the top- ranking stations in key Malay, Chinese, Indian and English vernacular demographics.

These stations cumulatively reach over 10 million listeners a week or half the total radio listeners in the country, and command a substantial proportion of the radio industry's advertising expenditure. In addition, it also packages 17 digital radio channels over the DTH platform.

Through its subsidiary Celestial Pictures, ASTRO owns the world's largest Chinese film library and its digitally remastered films for release and distribution worldwide. ASTRO provides interactive TV services by aggregating and distributing multimedia content to a variety of users through the many communication and mobile devices available today.

The Group's focus on growing and creating innovative interactive content has seen exponential growth in transactions through its digital platform.