Pay-TV operator Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd has stopped broadcasting Bloomberg TV Malaysia (BTVM) programmes on Channel 519 since the beginning of July.
Astro said BTVM’s two regular programmes – Moving Malaysia and Dashboard – would be replaced by other Bloomberg TV programmes. According to an industry official, Astro had sent out a note to its operations staff informing them that BTVM would no longer be aired from early July.
Channel 519 also carries Bloomberg TV’s other programmes, including Bloomberg Markets and Daybreak Asia. BTVM’s slot was for a few hours in a day.
Industry sources said BTVM and Astro have disagreements over several issues that could possibly lead to legal suits.
BTVM chief executive officer Michael Chan when contacted declined to comment on the reasons for the severance with Astro as he said there could be potential legal repercussions. Sources said BTVM was expected to call for a meeting with its staff to brief them on the developments.
In the meantime, it is learnt that a number of people have left BTVM, including its chief operating officer Alain Roger Poirier.
BTVM’s Chan said BTVM content would be available on the impending MYTV platform.
“Its business as usual for us, waiting for MYTV to launch, which is delayed for a bit,” he said.
MYTV is a digital terrestrial television platform owned and operated by MYTV Broadcasting Sdn Bhd, a company that has been given the rights to operate digital terrestial infrastructure in the country but has yet to take off.
Currently, Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s HyppTV carries BTVM content, with the content also available on the BTVM website, YouTube and on mobile app.
Chan said that the potential larger reach of MYTV convinced BTVM on the need to move to another platform.
Replying to a question on whether weak advertising revenue was the reason for BTVM to pull out of the Astro platform, he said internal targets for advertising revenue has been exceeded while others have experienced cuts.
Enmedia Ventures Sdn Bhd, a private vehicle of Tan Sri Mohd Effendi Norwawi, a former politician from Sarawak and federal minister, own the rights to BTVM. It was first aired on channel 519 on April 11 last year with the digital platforms launching a month earlier.
There were some difficulties in getting it off the ground, with both Effendi, also BTVM’s chairman, and Chan planning to “go live” in late-February 2014. The partnership with Bloomberg LP was first announced in December 2013.
Bloomberg TV Indonesia (BTVI) folded last year August after running into financial difficulties, reports showed. BTVI was a joint venture set up in 2012 between Bloomberg and Idea Group.
Bloomberg itself has a presence in Singapore and last year in March signed a partnership with TV5 Network Inc and Cignal TV Inc, both under MediaQuest Holdings Inc, the media arm of PLDT Inc, the largest Filipino telecommunications and digital services provider.
source from<>http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/07/28/astro-ends-ties-with-bloomberg-malaysia/
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