Malaysian television broadcasting was introduced on 28 December 1963. Colour television was introduced on 28 December 1978. Full-time colour transmissions were officially inaugurated on New Year's Day 1982. There are currently 16 national free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Malaysia and 3 national pay subscription television operators in Malaysia.
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States' first model of radio during the 1920s, in contrast with the public television model in Europe during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, which prevailed worldwide, except in the United States and Brazil, until the 1980s.
Astro Shuang Xing is a 24-hour Mandarin youth entertainment TV channel owned and run by pay TV provider, Astro. The channel provides variety entertainment that target for younger generation.
Astro TVIQ was an English-language channel. This channel was free as it was grouped under the Astro Family package. The viewership target was for children between the age of 4 to 15.
Astro Vaanavil is a Malaysian pay television channel that broadcasts programming in Tamil, targeting the Indian community in Malaysia. It was launched on 1 June 1996. It was created by Astro. Starting 1 June 2020, Astro Vaanavil has been officially upgraded to SD/HD and is known as Astro Vaanavil HD.
Astro AEC is a 24-hour in house Mandarin-generic television channel in Malaysia, owned by Astro. The channel broadcasts local productions in addition to productions from Singapore, Taiwan and mainland China.
Astro Wah Lai Toi is a Cantonese Video on demand owned and operated by Astro in partnership with Hong Kong's TVB. The channel offers mainly TVB programming, alongside some local content.
BabyTV is a multilingual, international television channel for babies, toddlers and preschoolers aged 3 or lower, owned by Fox Networks Group, a subsidiary of the Disney International Content and Operations division of The Walt Disney Company. It is headquartered in London and was first launched in 2003 in Israel and 2005 in the United Kingdom. BabyTV is distributed in over 100 countries, broadcasting in 18 languages. The channel broadcasts shows without television commercial interruptions. In the United States, the channel is distributed by Walt Disney Television.
Astro Hua Hee Dai is a 24-hour in-house Hokkien-generic TV channel in Malaysia. It is the fourth in-house Chinese channel provided by pay TV provider, Astro, after Astro Wah Lai Toi, Astro AEC and Astro Shuang Xing, and was launched on 13 October 2007 with other channels such as Astro Xiao Tai Yang, Asian Food Channel and KBS World. Bahasa Malaysia subtitles are provided.
Astro AWANI is a Malaysian news organisation that broadcasts its news via Channel 501 on Astro. Since 2018, Astro AWANI has been consecutively recognised as Malaysia's most trusted news source by the Reuter's Digital News Report published by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Launched on 6 September 2007, AWANI has since become a household news brand among Malaysians as the go to channel for breaking news. It broadcasts an array of programmes including bulletins, business & current affairs shows, special interviews, investigative reports, variety programmes, as well as selected magazine shows.
Astro Box Office is a pay-per-view (PPV) system on the Astro platform in Brunei and Malaysia. It shows movies and occasionally sporting events.
Astro Citra is a 24-hour Malay language version of HBO Asia, showing the local and Asian movies. The channel began broadcasting on 1 June 2009, replacing Astro Kirana which ceased its broadcasting on 18 May 2009 due to low viewership. Most of the movies are available in Malay and English subtitles. It is only available on Astro Channel 131 on the Mustika package. All movies are also shown on Astro Mustika HD, although during the latter's start of broadcast, only local films were shown. Starting 1 October 2018, Astro Mustika HD will renamed Astro Citra HD and will be renumbering to Channel 126.
Astro Warna is a 24-hour Malaysian television network in Malaysia. Launch On 1 June 2009, this channel airs local and international comedy programs. It is broadcast on the Astro satellite television platform as part of the Mustika Pack via Channel 132.
Astro Zhi Zun HD began broadcasting on 16 June 2010 as Astro's first Chinese-language channel and non-English language HD channel. This channel will mirror 80% of the content on Astro Wah Lai Toi, including drama series and sitcom on weekdays, variety shows, game shows and travelogues.
Astro Vinmeen HD is a Tamil HDTV channel high-definition free-to-view commercial satellite entertainment television channel network that is co-owned by Southeast Asia's second richest man, Ananda Krishnan and Astro Malaysia Holdings. It is South East Asia’s first 24-hour general entertainment Tamil HD channel. This channel features a variety of programs ranging from reality shows, English talk shows, travelogues, lifestyle programs, magic shows, Documentaries, celebrity cooking shows, classical Carnatic music shows, original Astro productions and blockbuster movies. It began broadcasting on 18 October 2013. Astro Vinmeen HD is part of the Basic HD channels.
Astro Xi Yue HD was a free TV channel for NJOI and Astro's pay and free subscription platforms. The channel was launched during Chinese New Year on 1 February 2015. It broadcast previous programming such as dramas, movies, documentaries, music and variety shows from sister channel. The last day of broadcast was at 30 June 2019, iQIYI will begin its broadcast starting from 17 July 2019. All overseas live event will be aired through Astro Channel 338.
