Sirius TV is a new satellite Pay TV provider in Malaysia and they are launching next month. The new service is operated by Smart Digital International Sdn. Bhd. and they are a content applications service provider (CASP) for satellite TV that’s licenced after Astro’s 20-year exclusivity had expired in 2017.
According to the official website, Sirius will offer a total of 30 channels which include 5 premium channels. Some of their content offering includes Channel News Asia, ABC Australia, Trace Sport Stars, Trace Urban, Pulse, LFCTV, CCTV and Edge Sports. Looking at the countdown on their website, the official launch will be taking place on the 4th of November 2019.
The full details are quite sketchy at the moment but based on Utusan‘s report, the service subscription fee will start from as low as RM20/month or you can get a full year subscription for only RM200. The company targets to acquire 500,000 subscribers per year.
As an early bird promo, you can get a full 12-month subscription for free but you’re required to pay a one-off RM299 fee which will include a 75cm Sirius dish, a decoder and installation included.
According to Sirius, they have partnered with SES and are using Ku-band transponders from the SES-12 satellite. They are also utilising the broadcast centre at the Measat Teleport and Broadcast Centre in Cyberjaya for content delivery. Ahead of its launch, Sirius is calling for interested parties to join them as a reseller and authorised installer.
The free subscription for one year is definitely interesting but it all depends on how much content they can offer. This isn’t the first time a company had tried to challenge Astro in the satellite TV segment. With faster and cheaper access to broadband, Malaysia consumers are getting spoilt with a variety of options via OTT and IPTV streaming platforms. Since this is a satellite-based service, the signal will likely be affected by weather conditions.
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