Ministry’s suggestion of other companies competing with Astro will not change landscape significantly

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia being open to the suggestion of other companies competing with Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd (Astro) to provide paid television broadcasting services in the country will not change the competitive landscape significantly.

Deputy Minister Eddin Syazlee Shith said recently at the Dewan Negara that the ministry was ready to grant rights or Content Application Service Provider (CASP) Individual licences to interested companies, as long as they complied with certain conditions.

“Our view is that this would not change the competitive landscape significantly as Astro’s exclusive rights and privileges to broadcast live content through satellite services to the public since 1997 have expired on February 28, 2017.

“Astro can still broadcast via satellite on a non-exclusive basis as its licence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 is valid until February 1, 2020,” AmInvestment Bank Bhd (AmInvestment Bank) said in a company report.

According to the research firm, Astro’s household penetration rate stood at 75 per cent for its residential Pay-TV and NJOI customers in the first quarter of financial year 2019 (1QFY19).

“We believe this indicates that the Pay-TV segment is saturated and will continue its declining trend as consumers’ preferences shift towards streaming content through digital and over-the-top platforms.”