PETALING JAYA, November 12 – Astro Holdings Bhd (Astro) expects its business to grow next year on the back of increased revenue from its various operations.
“The other lines of revenue are sales of content and programming rights not only within Malaysia but in the region,” Chief Executive Officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan told reporters on the sidelines of Astro’s launch of 10 new channels here Tuesday.
Rohana said subscriptions are the main contributor to Astro’s revenue, with advertising at between six to seven per cent of total revenue.
On the Goods and Services Tax to be implemented next year, Rohana said it would not affect prices for consumers as it had always been a part of its service charge and the only change would be in the name.
Meanwhile, Astro Chief Operating Officer Tan Poh Hock said the new channels, which will air from Nov 16, will give customers a choice of over 180 channels, adding the company will revise its HD fee to RM25 from RM20 effective Dec 1, the first increase since it was introduced in 2009.
“Today we are enjoyed by 4.2 million households and 16 million viewers nationwide.
“Astro is now the choice of over 60 per cent of Malaysians with our viewers spending two-thirds of their television viewing on Astro,” said Tan.
He added to remain successful Astro needs to keep innovating and improve its offerings to satisfy existing customers and attract new ones.
– BERNAMA
