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.
Metropolitan TV Sdn Bhd, operating as 8TV, is a Malaysian Chinese-language free-to-air television network focused on the Chinese community of Malaysia. It is owned and operated by Media Prima. The channel formerly existed as MetroVision from 1 July 1995 until 1 November 1999 and was relaunched as 8TV on 8 January 2004.
RCTI is a West Jakarta-based Indonesian free-to-air television broadcaster. It is best known for its soap operas, celebrity bulletins, news, and sports programmes. It was first launched in 1989, originally as a local pay television operator that broadcasts mostly foreign programmes, before switching to free-to-air terrestrial network a year later.
Ch-9 Media Sdn Bhd, operating as TV9 is a Malaysian free-to-air television network owned and operated by Media Prima Berhad. It airs programming that tends mostly towards the Malay demographic. The channel formerly existed as Channel 9 from 9 September 2003 until 3 February 2005 due to financial difficulties faced by the operator and relaunched as TV9 on 22 April 2006. It started broadcasting 24 hours a day on 6 May 2019.
Animax is an Asian pay television channel owned by KC Global Media Asia. The channel was originally owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and took its name from the Japanese satellite TV network; which was then-majority owned by subsidiary Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. The channel would be sold to its current owners on January 1, 2020.
Astro Ria is a 24-hour Southeast Asia Bahasa Melayu Malaysia television channel exclusive to the Astro satellite television provider. It was one of the first 22 channels to be launched on Astro in 1996. Astro Ria offers a variety of shows including news, local and Indonesian dramas, movies, reality shows, sports, talk shows, cartoons, concerts, sitcoms, documentaries, cooking shows, quizzes, entertainment and more.
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 Prima is a Malaysian pay television channel owned by Astro, launched on 1 January 2003. It broadcasts Malay dramas, documentaries, classic movies and soon comedies.
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 SuperSport is an English language in-house subscription satellite television network in Malaysia dedicated to broadcasting sports-related content 24 hours a day. Astro SuperSport 1 to 4 are available on the Astro via Channels 811 to 814 (HD) to subscribers of the Sports Pack only. The Sports Pack features a total of 15 sports channels covering sporting events from all over the world.
All-Asian Satellite Television and Radio Operator, doing business as Astro, is a Malaysian satellite television, streaming television and IPTV provider. Astro is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad and is operated by MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems Sdn. Bhd. It operates from the All Asia Broadcast Centre (AABC) in Kuala Lumpur and MEASAT in Cyberjaya.
Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HBO programming until 2025. It also broadcasts many original British produced Sky dramas. It is exclusively available on the Sky satellite TV platform and Sky's Now TV platform. Unlike the other channels from Sky Group, Sky Atlantic is not on Virgin Media. On 15 January 2024, select programming begun being simulcast on Sky Showcase.
Astro Bella was a ASEAN television channel by the Malaysian satellite provider Astro on channel 133. When it began broadcasting on 5 March 2012, the channel broadcast telenovelas, the first channel of its kind in Malaysia. The channel was broadcast on the channel number previously used B4U, a Bollywood movie channel.. The channel was included in the network's Mustika package. The channel contain telenovelas from the Philippines, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, Latin America, Brazil, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Spain, Arabia and Italy. While most telenovelas were broadcast in their original audio with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles, some of them were broadcast with dubbing in the native language.
Astro Mustika HD was a television channel by the Malaysian satellite provider Astro. It was the first in-house channel by Astro for telenovelas, movies, specials, telemovies, and reality in High Definition in Malaysia. Astro Mustika HD had been incorporated into the Mustika Pack of the network.
Astro Arena is a Malaysian television station owned and operated by Astro. It is the first 24/7 Malay language sports channel in Malaysia. This channel can be viewed on channel 801 through Astro's Family Pack. Launched on 26 March 2010, it was the idea from the former Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports YB. Dato' Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, together with the Olympic Council of Malaysia and Astro, to have a sports channel dedicated solely to the development of Malaysian sports. In the early years of this channel, several broadcasts were also available in HD, via Astro SuperSport HD, Mustika HD & Maya HD.
Astro Maya HD was a channel on Malaysia's satellite television Astro and began broadcasting on 24 June 2013, the second Malay high-definition channel launched by Astro after Astro Mustika HD.
Raja Lawak Astro is a Malaysian TV reality show that searches for comedic talent. It started broadcasting in early 2007. Every week contestants perform a joke according to the theme set on stage. They are judged to choose winners to proceed to the next round. The winner is crowned "King of Comedy," as reviewed by the audience and the judge in the final round.
