Astro (company)

The streaming service of Astro was launched in 2012 called Astro On-The-Go (AOTG).[20] The launch of the app enabled customers to access to Astro TV Channels, Live Events, Video-On-Demand (VOD) and Catch Up TV on mobile devices. The app was also made for international users in March 2013.[21]

The app was renamed to Astro Go on 31 March 2017[22] and saw a significant revamp that introduced several new features, such as a more user-friendly interface, improved video playback quality, and better content discovery tools. Astro Go offers personalized content recommendations based on viewing history and preferences and allows customers to download shows for offline viewing.

In November 2019, Astro launched the Ultra Box,[23] its first self-installable set-top box which can be used with satellite or broadband/Wi-Fi. The main features are its better viewing experience with 4K UHD and access to cloud-based video recording as well as video-on-demand content.

Expanding its set-top box offerings, Astro introduced the Ulti Box[24] in 2021 which showcases similar features to the Ultra Box. The key difference is that the Ulti Box only provides HD resolutions rather than a 4K UHD experience.

Astro embarked on its broadband journey in 2011 by collaborating with TIME Dotcom to serve content over broadband through its Astro B.yond IPTV service. To further its place in the ISP space, Astro entered a partnership with Maxis in 2019, resulting in the introduction of Astro & Broadband. In 2022, Astro became an Internet Service Provider and began offering standalone broadband through Astro Fibre, which is also offered to businesses through its BIZfibre services.

Astro has been criticised for its monopolistic practices in which it has become the dominant paid television service in Malaysia while its competitors ABNXcess, Mega TV, and MiTV were not able to compete against Astro and became defunct after its launch.[25][26] Astro was the sole paid television operator in Malaysia until 2017 when another competitor, Telekom Malaysia's Unifi TV, emerged as a strong cord-cutting alternative.[27]

The Malaysian government's plan to regulate Android-based set-top boxes in 2019 raised concerns that Astro's dominance over the country's television content market would be enhanced.[28] While Astro's exclusive rights to Malaysian broadcast content expired in 2017, the company continues to have non-exclusive broadcast privileges under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Starting in 2022, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will provide Content Applications Service Provider (CASP) licenses to 35 broadcasting companies, four of which are approved to deliver content via satellite television.[29]

Astro has also enjoyed control of the broadcasting rights for sports events, including all Liga Super and Piala Malaysia events, and the FIFA World Cup 2014[30] and 2018. Competitors were restricted from airing those events,[31][32] or were required by regulators to pay excessive royalties to Astro.[30] The high royalty fees were criticised by Jeremy Kung, executive vice president of TM New Media, who argued that sports content on free-to-air television channels should be made available to public for free.[30] Former Information, Communications, Arts and Culture minister Rais Yatim urged the media groups who had exclusive rights to major sports events to share their content to free-to-air television channels.[32] Pakatan Harapan youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad argued that the rights to broadcast English Premier League should be co-licensed with Radio Television Malaysia instead of being restricted to Astro.[33]

Astro's short-lived Indonesian operations were also subject of investigation by Indonesian regulators, and accusations by rival providers, over allegations of the company also monopolizing Premier League rights in the country.[34]

Astro has been criticised for raising its service prices and imposing penalty fees on customers. In 2007, Astro raised its service fee about 15% and converted previously free channels like Bloomberg, Al Jazeera English, and CGTN into paid channels. Anyone who attempted to drop such service packages was charged a fee.[35] Malaysiakini reporter Cheah Kah Seng encouraged customers to protest against the price hikes and provided instructions on how to do so.[36] Due to broadcasting rights it has received from the Malaysian government, Astro raised its fees several more times in the following years, while consumers had fewer competitive alternatives.[37]

Astro often shows commercials on premium channels for which consumers paid for an ad-free experience.[38] Customers who use the Astro personal video recorder (PVR), Astro MAX, have reported performance problems[35] and difficulty in recording certain channels.[39]