Television in Brunei

Television in Brunei was introduced in 1975. It operates as a three-channel monopoly operated by state broadcaster Radio Televisyen Brunei. Until 2022, Kristal-Astro provided subscription television services.

History

The first television signals received in the vicinity of Brunei were those of TV Sabah, whose test broadcasts started in February 1971. ^[1] When regular broadcasts started the following month, there was an increase in television sets. ^[2] As part of a five-year plan, the introduction of television became a possibility. ^[3]

RTB started testing its signals on VHF channel 5 on 1 March 1975 in Bandar Seri Begawan, ^[4] on 10 July, its broadcasts became regular. ^[5] In 1976, a second transmitter in Seria on channel 8 was added. ^[6]

Beginning 1 January 1994, RTB Sukmaindera (later renamed Brunei International) launched, a one-hour international service delivered by the Palapa B2P satellite. ^[7]

Kristal started delivering a 14-channel subscription television service on 2 January 1999, in order to combat the rise in illegal satellite dishes. ^[8] The broadcast of MTV was cut from the operator early on due to moral concerns, but was later reinstated with certain programming blocked. ^[9] Kristal-Astro, a subscription satellite service, started on 25 January 2000, when Kristal signed an agreement with Malaysian operator Astro. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

RTB rearranged its line-up of channels with the introduction of digital terrestrial television in Brunei: the existing channel became RTB1 while RTB2 launched in 2006 as an entertainment channel. Around 2008, RTB3, an HD channel, started with a similar mix of programmes to those seen on RTB2, Brunei International was renamed RTB4 and an Islamic channel, RTB5, launched. ^[13] On 11 April 2017, RTB cut the number of channels from five to three, with RTB1 and RTB5 merging to form RTB Perdana, RTB2 and RTB3 merging to form RTB Aneka and RTB4 becoming RTB Sukmaindera. ^[14]

In January 2022, Kristal-Astro announced its closure on 31 March due to the situation the market was facing, as well as new trends in technology. ^[15] Subscribers were resorted to use Malaysian digital terrestrial television overspill signals as an alternative. ^[16]

See also

• Mass media in Brunei
• Telecommunications in Brunei

References

1. "Sabah TV signals picked up in Brunei -claim". The Straits Times. 26 February 1971.
2. "Shops selling TV sets under the counter". The Straits Times. 16 March 1971.
3. "Hope for 'mini boom' in Brunei". The Straits Times. 17 March 1971.
4. "Pelancaran siaran TV warna di Brunei capai kejayaan". Berita Harian. 6 March 1975.
5. "Colour TV in Brunei: First phase launched". The Straits Times. 10 July 1975. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
6. "Television Factbook" (PDF). 1977. p. 1095-b. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
7. "Brunei TV to introduce satellite broadcasts". The Straits Times. 25 December 1993. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
8. "Brunei lancar TV swasta pertama" . Berita Minggu. 2 January 1999. Retrieved 10 February 2022– via KLiK.
9. Gunaratne, Shelton A (27 July 2000). Handbook of the Media in Asia. SAGE Publications. p. 235. ISBN   9780761994275.
10. "Microsoft Word - ASEAN_Study.doc" (PDF). World Intellectual Property Organization . pp. 43 & 45. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
11. "KRISTAL Astro Sdn. Bhd". Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
12. "Kristal-Astro pact to launch DTH digital satellite TV in Brunei" . Business Times. 25 January 2000. Retrieved 10 February 2022– via KLiK.
13. "The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2011". Google Books. 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
14. Fizah Hab (12 April 2017). "State broadcaster to revamp, digitise TV channels". Asia News Network. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
15. Kristal Astro's Operation Closure Archived 31 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine , Kristal Astro.
16. Amree Ahmad (4 February 2022). "MYTV beri liputan terbaik di Brunei" . Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.