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, for example. It was the United States' first model of radio during the 1920s, in contrast with the public television model during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, which prevailed worldwide, except in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, until the 1980s.
Metropolitan TV Sdn. Bhd., operating as 8TV, is a Malaysian Chinese-language free-to-air television network focused on the Chinese community of Malaysia, owned and operated by Media Prima. The channel formerly existed as MetroVision from 1 July 1995 until 1 November 1999 and relaunched as 8TV on 8 January 2004.
RCTI is a West Jakarta-based Indonesian free-to-air television network. 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.
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.
Disney Channel was a pan-Asian pay television kids channel owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia.
In Malaysia, digital television broadcasts, DTV or DHD, can be received via cable, internet, satellite, or via free over-the-air (OTA) digital terrestrial television - much like analogue television broadcasts have been. It began in the mid-1990s with the introduction of the Astro satellite television service, now followed by new paid television services in the 2000s, as well as the digitalisation of over-the-air TV which was expected to be complete by the mid-2010s before being shelved. This article discusses various platforms where DTV is applied in Malaysia, including Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). Following its successful nationwide digital transition on 31 October 2019, the country became the third in Southeast Asia with digital broadcasts after neighbouring Brunei and Singapore.
Astro Prima is a Malaysian pay television channel owned by Astro, launched on 1 February 2003. It broadcasts Malay dramas, documentaries and classic movies.
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.
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.
Disney XD was a Southeast Asian pay television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company Pte. Ltd. and part of the Disney Branded Television unit of the United States-based Walt Disney Television, it was also operated by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific during the acquisition on both Disney and Fox in 2019. It was aimed primarily at children, 6–15 years old on the namesake television channel in the United States.
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.
Iskandar Malaysia Studios (IMS) is a studio complex located at a twenty hectares site in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru District, Johor, Malaysia, It targets the Asia-Pacific region.
Astro Bella was a South American 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, telemovie & reality in High Definition in Malaysia. Astro Mustika HD was included in the network's Mustika Pack.
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.
