"Content to us is more than just entertainment. It can inspire. It enables the mind to flourish. It helps to see beyond the obvious."
ZAINIR AMINULLAH, Executive Director, Astro Entertainment

Increasing penetration into semi-urban and more rural markets of Malaysia accounted for a large part of pay-TV subscriber growth in FY2009. This growing new audience and existing customers all demand compelling content, particularly local-language programming.

Our ability to create content in Bahasa Malaysia, Hokkien, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hindi, Tamil and English makes us unique among content developers around the world. Our content development unit, Astro Entertainment Network (AEN) houses all our Astro branded channels. Included in AEN is the subsidiary, Astro Entertainment Sdn Bhd (AESB). AESB leads our Bahasa Malaysia content development activities with annual budgets of over RM300 million. In FY2009, AESB’s activities grew in significance, resulting in a decision to carve out the TV programming segment as a separate reportable business segment in the Group accounts.

In FY2009, this segment delivered a broad selection of exclusive programmes including dramas, current affairs coverage, game-shows and reality shows. Revenue rose 28% to RM234 million from RM183 million a year earlier while channel share also improved with an average 36% of Astro TV viewers watching the 9 Astro-branded channels compared with 28% the previous year. Reflecting our commitment to Bahasa Malaysia content, first-run transmission hours increased to over 4,397 hours from 2,488 hours a year earlier.

Our existing all-time favourite programmes continue to be major hits with viewers, including Akademi Fantasia, which drew 1.2 million viewers during the finals of its seventh season, Raja Lawak, a comedy talent quest, which had a viewership of 1.2 million in the finals of its third season while dance reality programme, Sehati Berdansa, finished its second season with more viewers than ever. Some new programmes which debuted during the year included Jangan Lupa Lirik, a game show hosted by Aznil Hj Nawawi which drew nearly 500,000 viewers weekly. Other new game shows such as Kelab Pop, Bolos and Teksi Tunai and Rasa Halal Orient, a new culinary travelogue show, also made an impression with viewers.

Our local productions notched up another success in FY2009 through the syndication of our content, reaching a wider network of customers across Asia and potentially the world. Astro ARUNA and Astro RIA channels are now available on Singapore IPTV platform, MioTV. In Vietnam, we began supplying dramas from China, Taiwan and Indonesia, and Asian and Western movies to Ho Chi Minh Cable and Hanoi Cable on the Astro CAM XUC channel.