List of Malaysian television stations
Encyclopedia
Malaysian television broadcasting started on 28 December 1963
Timeline of the introduction of television in countries
This is a list of when the first publicly announced television broadcasts occurred in the mentioned countries. Non-public field tests and closed circuit demonstrations are not included....

 and re-introduced on 2 December 1983. Colour television was introduced on the same day. Full time colour transmissions were launched on 1 January 1990
Timeline of the introduction of color television in countries
This is a list of when the first color television broadcasts were transmitted to the general public. Non-public field tests and closed-circuit demonstrations are not included.Countries and territories which never had black and white television This is a list of when the first color television...

. Until recently, Malaysia did not had any 100% government-owned stations until Kuala Lumpur became a Malaysian city in 2003. There are currently 6 free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...

 television stations in Malaysia and 3 pay-to-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

 based television networks.

Media Prima Berhad (who owns TV3 and ntv7) were Malaysia's national television provider until 2003 when Kuala Lumpur became a city in Malaysia. TV3 and ntv7 were also broadcasted over-the-fence to Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

. Kuala Lumpur had many radio stations, but the only station that broadcast to other states are FM 101.5, which are not actually broadcasted from Kuala Lumpur, but are broadcasted from Putrajaya.

Television providers

Subscription providers are available, with differences in the number of channels, capabilities such as the programme guide (EPG), video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...

 (VOD), high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...

 (HD), interactive television
Interactive television
Interactive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...

 via the red button
Red Button (Digital Television)
Red Button is a button on the remote control for certain digital television set top boxes in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and By Directv in the USA. It is for interactive television services such as BBC Red Button and Astro...

, and coverage across Malaysia. Set-top box
Set-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...

es are generally used to receive these services. Households viewing TV from the internet are not tracked by the Malaysian government.
Provider Free or pay  No. broadcast channels VOD
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...

 
HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...

 
Red button
Red Button (Digital Television)
Red Button is a button on the remote control for certain digital television set top boxes in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and By Directv in the USA. It is for interactive television services such as BBC Red Button and Astro...

Country of origin Transmission
Analogue terrestrial  Up to 7 Malaysia Analogue
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...

 terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...

Astro  Pay TV Around 130 (TV and radio) Yes
Astro On Demand
Astro On Demand is the brand-name of a range of near video on demand services from Astro on the same platform of the same name.Astro On Demand is a HK drama channel co-established by HK TVBI and Malay Astro. While broadcasting the newest HK drama on the same time HK does, it also plays TVB dramas...

 
Malaysia Digital satellite
Hypp.TV
Hypp.TV
Hypp.TV is a Malaysian subscription-based internet protocol television service owned by Telekom Malaysia Berhad. It provides IPTV channels over ADSL and video on demand programming delivered via broadband. Hypp.TV is an example of telecommunication convergence...

 
Free and subscription 35 Malaysia IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...

UniFi
UniFi
UniFi is an amalgamation of “Uni” which denotes togetherness and camaraderie, while “Fi” symbolises fibre optics. This is a new service provided by TM Berhad the leading Integrated Telecommunications provider in Malaysia....

 
Subscription 18 Malaysia IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...

DETV  Subscription 33 Malaysia IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...

U Television  Pay Malaysia Digital terrestrial
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...

TrueVisions
TrueVisions
TrueVisions is Thailand's leading cable satellite television operator, broadcasting largely in English. Now owned by the True Corporation, the company was formerly known as the United Broadcasting Corporation , but it was rebranded in February 2007....

 (from Thailand)
Pay 200 (Thai+Inter, no MAS) Thailand Digital satellite from Thailand

Analogue terrestrial television

This is currently the traditional way of receiving television in Malaysia, however it has now largely been supplanted by digital providers. There are 7 channels; three of them are government-owned by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) the 2 television channels terrestrial free-to-air RTM TV1 (TV1) and RTM TV2; one by Al Hijrah Media Corporation, which operates TV Alhijrah
TV Alhijrah
TV AlHijrah is a state-owned free-to-air television network in Malaysia, which is owned and operated by Al Hijrah Media Corporation, a government owned company. It broadcasts from its headquarters in Pusat Islam, Kuala Lumpur...

; TV3
TV3 (Malaysia)
Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad or TV3 began broadcasting on 1 June 1984 as Malaysia’s first commercial television station. It is part of Media Prima Berhad group of companies. It now transmits opened broadcasting business private 24-hours a day, 7 days a week since 1 January 2010...

, ntv7
Ntv7
Natseven TV Sdn Bhd or better known as ntv7 is a terrestrial television channel in Malaysia. It was launched nationwide on 7 April 1998 and was the country's third private free-to-air TV station after TV3 and Astro. Its mission is to promote a happier and more enlightened Malaysia...

, 8TV
8TV (Malaysia)
8TV is a private Malaysian Chinese television station, previously known as MetroVision Channel 8. Metrovision closed on 1 November 1999. 8TV was officially launched on Thursday, 8 January 2004 as 8TV after being acquired by Media Prima Berhad....

and TV9
TV9 (Malaysia)
TV9 is a free-to-air private television station in Malaysia. TV9 began broadcasting on 22 April 2006, as a subsidiary of Media Prima Berhad. It formerly existed as Channel 9, which began airing on 9 September 2003 and ceased transmission on 1 February 2005 due to financial difficulties faced by the...

are private-owned, namely by a single operator Media Prima. Analogue terrestrial transmissions were scheduled to be switched off in phases as part of the digital switchover, expected to be completed in 2015 as a recommendation from ASEAN, however, it does not come to effect. The frequency has been moved to avoid signal jamming with television in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.

Name Network Owner Launch date Channel (KL
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

)
Broadcasting area Transmitted area Broadcasting hours Formerly known as
TV1 Radio Televisyen Malaysia
Radio Televisyen Malaysia
The Department of Broadcasting, Malaysia, DBA Radio Televisyen Malaysia , is a Malaysian state-owned public broadcaster. It owns and operates a number of radio and television stations in Malaysia, based in Kuala Lumpur...

Government 28 December 1963 12 (UHF) Klang Valley
Klang Valley
Klang Valley is an area in Malaysia comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, and adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. An alternative reference to this would be Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area or Greater Kuala Lumpur. It is geographically delineated by Titiwangsa Mountains to the...

Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

07:30-01:00
TV2
TV2 (Malaysia)
RTM2, also known as TV2 is a television station in Malaysia owned and operated by the Radio Television Malaysia, a division of the Malaysian Government. RTM2 is now broadcasting for 24 hours a day effective January 2006.- History :...

Radio Televisyen Malaysia Government 17 November 1969 15 (UHF) Klang Valley Kuala Lumpur 24-hours
TV3
TV3 (Malaysia)
Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad or TV3 began broadcasting on 1 June 1984 as Malaysia’s first commercial television station. It is part of Media Prima Berhad group of companies. It now transmits opened broadcasting business private 24-hours a day, 7 days a week since 1 January 2010...

Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad Media Prima Berhad
Media Prima Berhad
Media Prima Berhad , DBA Media Prima, is Malaysia’s leading integrated media investment group. It currently owns 100 per cent equity interest in TV3, 8TV, NTV7 and TV9...

1 June 1984 29 (UHF) Klang Valley Kuala Lumpur 06:30-00:00
ntv7
Ntv7
Natseven TV Sdn Bhd or better known as ntv7 is a terrestrial television channel in Malaysia. It was launched nationwide on 7 April 1998 and was the country's third private free-to-air TV station after TV3 and Astro. Its mission is to promote a happier and more enlightened Malaysia...

Natseven TV Sdn Bhd Media Prima Berhad 7 April 1998 21 (UHF) Klang Valley Kuala Lumpur 07:00-02:00
8TV
8TV (Malaysia)
8TV is a private Malaysian Chinese television station, previously known as MetroVision Channel 8. Metrovision closed on 1 November 1999. 8TV was officially launched on Thursday, 8 January 2004 as 8TV after being acquired by Media Prima Berhad....

Metropolitan TV Sdn Bhd Media Prima Berhad 8 January 2004 25 (UHF) Klang Valley Kuala Lumpur 07:00-03:00 Metrovision
TV9
TV9 (Malaysia)
TV9 is a free-to-air private television station in Malaysia. TV9 began broadcasting on 22 April 2006, as a subsidiary of Media Prima Berhad. It formerly existed as Channel 9, which began airing on 9 September 2003 and ceased transmission on 1 February 2005 due to financial difficulties faced by the...

Channel 9 Sdn Bhd Media Prima Berhad 22 April 2006 42 (UHF) Klang Valley Kuala Lumpur 07:00-01:00 Channel 9
TV AlHijrah
TV Alhijrah
TV AlHijrah is a state-owned free-to-air television network in Malaysia, which is owned and operated by Al Hijrah Media Corporation, a government owned company. It broadcasts from its headquarters in Pusat Islam, Kuala Lumpur...

AlHijrah Media Corporation Government 7 December 2010 55 (UHF) Klang Valley Kuala Lumpur 12:00-00:00
(07:00-00:00 on Weekends)

Digital terrestrial television

In 2005, the Ministry of Information announced their plan to digitalise nationwide free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...

 TV broadcasts led by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). Trial broadcasts were undertaken, involving one thousand households in the Klang Valley
Klang Valley
Klang Valley is an area in Malaysia comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, and adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. An alternative reference to this would be Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area or Greater Kuala Lumpur. It is geographically delineated by Titiwangsa Mountains to the...

 from September 2006 till February 2007. According to the then-Deputy Minister of Information, Chia Kwang Chye, the trial received "very positive" feedback, i.e. "more than 60 percent said the quality of the signal ranged from good to very good. Over 88 percent said the picture quality improved, while 70 percent said the sound quality was better."

On 1 January 2008, TV3 announced that they were carrying out their own tests using a completely different system, T-DMB
Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
Digital Multimedia Broadcasting is a digital radio transmission technology developed in South Korea as part of the national IT project for sending multimedia such as TV, radio and datacasting to mobile devices such as mobile phones...

. However their test transmission is available only to areas surrounding their main headquarters at Sri Pentas, Bandar Utama
Bandar Utama
Bandar Utama is a township located within the Damansara subdivision of the Petaling district in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It is primarily a residential suburb, but is also home to the 1 Utama Shopping Centre.-Demographics:...

, Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...

. The test signals consists of a single DAB stream, Fly FM
Fly FM
Fly FM is a private radio station in Malaysia owned by Media Prima Berhad. It was launched on October 3, 2005 and targets listeners aged between fifteen and thirty years old. Fly FM is the second most popular English radio station in Malaysia, besides being the fastest growing radio station in the...

, and two T-DMB streams, TV3
TV3 (Malaysia)
Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad or TV3 began broadcasting on 1 June 1984 as Malaysia’s first commercial television station. It is part of Media Prima Berhad group of companies. It now transmits opened broadcasting business private 24-hours a day, 7 days a week since 1 January 2010...

and a Hot Visual, which carries a slide show with audio signal streamed from the radio station Hot FM
Hot FM (Malaysia)
Hot FM is a radio air Malay-owned Synchrosound Studio Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Media Prima. Broadcasts transmitted from Sri Pentas, Bandar Utama. Hot FM began test transmission operation began Jan. 15 in 2006 and officially commenced operations on February 5, 2006...

.

Despite a success of RTM's pilot trials, the digital terrestrial television transition faced many problems. These problems stemmed from the lesser enthautism of content providers toward the digitisation, with the exception Les Copaque, and the need to improve the nation's Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 broadband infrastructure. With the resignation of then Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and the succession of Najib Tun Razak
Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...

, the project by RTM was deferred indefinitely.

Satellite television

Malaysia's sole satellite television operator, Measat Broadcast Network Systems (a subsidiary of Astro All Asia Networks) launched the Astro service in 1996. It currently holds exclusive rights from the Malaysian government to offer satellite television broadcasting services in the country through the year 2017. The rights was extended to 2022 recently. Now, big ugly dishes are still found in Malaysia.

There are also laws preventing too many advertisements from being aired on both radio and television, similar to the United Kingdom.

International broadcast

Malaysians in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 can view TV shows instantly from Malaysia by SES-1
SES-1
SES-1 is a Dutch geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES World Skies. It was originally ordered by SES Americom as a ground spare for AMC-5R, however in April 2008 a decision was made to launch it, and it was named AMC-1R. It was subsequently renamed AMC-4R, and finally...

 satellite, including television from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

, the channel broadcast are Malay Fun TV, Malaysia Sports (these stations are Malay-language TV in the USA), TVSelangor
TVSelangor
TVSelangor is a TV Channel owned by the State Government of Selangor, Malaysia. It began operation in 2008. TVSelangor was formed by the State Government because the Federal Government would not allow them to use Federal Government TV channels to deliver information or news about the state...

, Global TV (live from Malaysia).

Cable television

Mega TV was launched in 1994 by TV3
TV3 (Malaysia)
Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad or TV3 began broadcasting on 1 June 1984 as Malaysia’s first commercial television station. It is part of Media Prima Berhad group of companies. It now transmits opened broadcasting business private 24-hours a day, 7 days a week since 1 January 2010...

 as the only cable television service. However, it faced stiff competition from the satellite television network Astro, and failed to expand its content. Because of this, it closed down in 2001, and was replaced by its competitor since then.

IP television (IPTV)

In contrast to Internet TV, IPTV refers to services operated and controlled by a single company, who may also control the 'Final Mile' to the consumers' premises.

DETV, a new paid television provider owned by REDtone, provides television and video-on-demand services on the IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...

 platform, targeting the Chinese audiences in Malaysia.

TM
Telekom Malaysia
Telekom Malaysia Berhad , DBA TM, is the largest integrated solutions provider in Malaysia, and one of Asia's leading communications companies, with a market capitalisation of RM13.9 billion and a workforce of 26,629 employees. Established as the Telecommunications Department of Malaya in 1946, it...

 is expected to launch its IPTV services, currently branded Hypp.TV
Hypp.TV
Hypp.TV is a Malaysian subscription-based internet protocol television service owned by Telekom Malaysia Berhad. It provides IPTV channels over ADSL and video on demand programming delivered via broadband. Hypp.TV is an example of telecommunication convergence...

 in the second quarter of 2009, and now conducts trials with 1,000 selected households in Klang Valley, Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

 and Kulim
Kulim
Kulim is the third largest town in Kedah after Alor Star and Sungai Petani is located at the South East of Kedah state and East of Penang state in Malaysia. Kulim is a district consist of 15 smaller sub-districts also known as "mukim"...

, Kedah
Kedah
Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...

.

TM then successfully released their IPTV based on their HSBB Unifi service which only available to Unifi subscriber.

Mobile television

Maxis, DiGi and U Mobile provide mobile television services for reception on third generation
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...

 mobile phones. They consist of a mixture of regular channels as well as made for mobile channels with looped content. Maxis TV now offers more than 20 channels to Maxis 3G subscribers who own compatible mobile phones. Yet, Maxis is expected to roll out broadcast mobile TV services based on DVB-H
DVB-H
DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...

 in the near future.

U Mobile
U Mobile
U Mobile Sdn Bhd is Malaysia’s newest 3G service provider and was founded in 1998 as MiTV Networks Sdn Bhd. U Mobile is a wholly owned subsidiary of U Television Sdn Bhd which was formerly known as U Telecom Media Holdings Sdn Bhd and MiTV Corporation Sdn Bhd....

 also provides broadcast mobile TV to users of selected 3G phones, also based on DVB-H.

In October 2008, Astro launched Astro Mobile TV which currently provides 18 channels, all of which are mobile versions of its existing channels, seven of them are under its own brand. This service is only available to Maxis subscribers with compatible 2.5G or 3G handsets, and does not reprise its role from Maxis TV.

Internet television

Television received via the Internet may be free, subscription or pay-per-view, multicast
Multicast
In computer networking, multicast is the delivery of a message or information to a group of destination computers simultaneously in a single transmission from the source creating copies automatically in other network elements, such as routers, only when the topology of the network requires...

, unicast
Unicast
right|200pxIn computer networking, unicast transmission is the sending of messages to a single network destination identified by a unique address.-Addressing methodologies:...

, or peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...

, streamed
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...

 or downloaded, and use a variety of distribution technologies. Playback is normally via a computer and broadband Internet connection, although digital media receiver
Digital media receiver
A digital media receiver , also commonly referred to as a media extender, media streamer, digital media hub, or digital media adapter , is a home entertainment device that can connect to a home network to retrieve digital media files from a personal computer or other networked media server and...

s or media centre
Home theater PC
A Home Theater PC or Media Center appliance is a convergence device that combines some or all the capabilities of a personal computer with a software application that supports video, photo, music playback, and sometimes video recording functionality...

 computers can be used for playback on televisions, such as a computer equipped with Windows Media Center
Windows Media Center
Windows Media Center is a digital video recorder and media player developed by Microsoft. It is an application that allows users to view and record live television, as well as organize and play music and videos...

.

See also

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK