Astro All Asia Networks

ASTRO ALL ASIA NETWORKS plc (ASTRO) is Malaysia’s leading cross-media group with significant presence in DTH (Direct-To-Home) TV services, commercial radio and TV programming. Astro, the subscription TV service began operations in 1996 with 22 channels and currently broadcasts over 119 pay-TV channels in four major languages across Malaysia and Brunei to more than 2.93 million households.

Its state-of the-art digital broadcast facilities at the All Asia Broadcast Centre and at the Cyberjaya multiplex are capable of handling 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 TV programming in Malay, Chinese, English and Indian languages, in addition to third-party content. With over 38,000 first-run hours of original multi-language content, the Astro Entertainment Network (AEN) encompasses 31 television channels across various genres, with plans to increase these in the near future to serve an ever-evolving customer profile.

ASTRO’s in-house production, comprising entertainment, information and news programmes, totalled close to 5600 hours in FY09.

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 close to 11 million listeners a week or 72% of total radio listeners in the Peninsular Malaysia, and command a substantial 57% of the radio industry's advertising expenditure. In addition, the Group 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 re-mastered films for release and distribution worldwide. It has successfully widened the global footprint of the Shaw Brothers’ pay-TV, home video and video-on-demand products with distribution deals across the world. To date, the Shaw Brothers titles have been distributed to over 100 countries on six continents.

The Group is also a premier producer and distributor of Malay films and provides a platform for leading local producers and directors to hone their creative skills and capabilities in film production. The Group’s publication business, Measat Publications Sdn Bhd, publishes entertainment and lifestyle magazines in Malaysia, including AstroView. Through its subsidiary, Philippine Animation N.V Group, Philippine’s leading animation studio, the Group produces popular animated content.

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.

The Group is seeking to increase its participation in large under-penetrated economies that will benefit from the anticipated liberalization of the media industry and the fast-growing consumer sector, particularly in developing regions. Consistent with this objective, Astro has invested in a joint venture to provide DTH satellite services in India. The group also provides studio infrastructure and airtime marketing consultancy services in India and owns 20% of South Asia FM Ltd. which has licenses to own and operate 23 FM radio stations in India. The group is looking to extend its business model in other emerging and under-penetrated market in Asia.

ASTRO was de-listed from the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad on 14 June 2010, following a successful take-over offer by Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd, a company owned by Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd/its affiliates, and Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

(Information as at 31 Jan 2010 unless stated otherwise) - from corporate website.