The days of Astro as the only satellite TV provider are coming to an end. A new company, Ansa Broadcast, will be starting its own satellite TV network soon. This is great news for Malaysians looking for an alternative to the big boy from Measat.
Previously known as U-Television, Ansa Broadcast is a cable TV operator which is part of Tan Sri Vincent Tan’s Berjaya Group. This is an opportune time as Astro’s exclusivity clause ended in February 2017.
No concrete details have emerged from the announcement from Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) but the company is said in the process of weighing in broadcast technologies. Ansa is current considering between leasing satellite bandwidth from other providers or may just launch its own satellite for the service.
We have seen other players in the market before – ABNXcess, MiTV, MegaTV – but they all succumbed to the pressure of the market and fizzled out. Ansa Broadcast may not be an overnight success, but it will disrupt the market by giving users option for home entertainment.
Of course, at the same time, there are other companies that delivers over the top (OTT) services like HyppTV from TM, or even on-demand content providers like iFlix and Netflix. These three services differ from Astro as they are mainly IP-based, thus the only thing that the services need is a stable internet connection.
Nevertheless, it is great to see more option presented to the consumers, and the eventual winner will be the said consumers in the end. There is no expected date of commencement for Ansa Broadcast, but we eagerly await the roll-out from the company in Malaysia soon.
(Source : The Star Online)
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