Television broadcasting in Malaysia is provided by the federal government and respective private broadcasting companies. The government is committed to provide digital television to every Malaysian's household by end-2015 under DTTV (Digital Terrestrial Television) Project which is a part of national agenda by Ministry of Communications and Digital and managed by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).[1] The analogue transmissions were completely turned off on 31 October 2019 and switched to full myFreeview Digital TV broadcast using DVB-T2 technology.[2] The switchover was done in stages by territory which begun in all peninsular states starting from the central and southern on 30 September 2019, north and east on 14 October 2019 and Sabah and Sarawak on 31 October 2019.[3] The digital TV transmissions' Service Level Availability (SLA) currently stood at 99.9% coverage rate.[4]
The first trial broadcasts of digital TV started in 2006 by government-owned Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). Some local TV channels already are broadcasting shows in HD for special occasions since 2008. Free-to-air and subscription-based television channels in Malaysia are available in HD standards through terrestrial, satellite and IP, as well as over OTT platform.
Currently there is only two free-to-air digital terrestrial platform with high definition digital television channels in Malaysia, named as myFreeview and NJOI.
Government-owned television free-to-air broadcast channels
WaTV ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 March 2012. Replaced by Celestial Movies HD and KIX HD while programs broadcast by the channel is now carried by Astro AEC.
Astro @15 ceased transmission and broadcasting on 1 May 2012 at midnight. Replaced by Astro Mustika HD on 21 May 2012 to while programs broadcast by the channel were carried by other Astro's Malay channels.
Astro Lifestyle HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 October 2012 at midnight. At 6am, Food Network was Channel 727 (now Channel 708) and Life Inspired (now TLC HD) was Channel 728 (now Channel 707). Both channels are 24-hour dedicated channels.
2013
Astro Stocklink ceased service on New Year's Day (1 January) 2013 at midnight.
Radio Mosaic ceased service on 9 February 2013 due to the same broadcast of radio channels.
BIO Channel ceased broadcasting and transmission on 14 June 2013 at midnight. Replaced by Lifetime.
BeTV ceased broadcasting and transmission on 26 August 2013 at midnight. It was the first HD channel to be ceased on Astro. Replaced by HITS TV on 16 November 2014 at the same channel number (Channel 720) then moved to Channel 706 on 1 April 2020.
CNBC ceased broadcasting and transmission on 7 October 2013 because it was unable to fulfill these objects, but was relaunched back in the same month.
2014
FOX Family Movies had ceased transmission on 1 February 2014, but the HD version was relaunched on 16 November 2014 until it officially ceased broadcasting and transmission again on 30 September 2021 at 11:59:59pm.
Jia Yu ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 April 2014 at midnight. A temporary channel was broadcast for a month before being relaunched on 1 May 2014 at 6:00am.
The SD version of FOX (Channel 710) officially ceased transmission and broadcasting on 16 November 2014. Officially upgraded to FOX HD (Channel 724) until FOX HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 30 September 2021 at 11:59:59pm and was replaced by Disney+ Hotstar that officially launched on 1 June 2021.
2015
Astro On Demand Drama Preview was ceased broadcasting and transmission on 12 January 2015. Replaced by iView on the NJOI version on 20 January 2015.
Golf Channel in SD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 26 February 2015.
2016
Astro Hitz ceased broadcasting and transmission on 16 May 2016 at midnight due to low viewership and declining popularity.
Sundance Channel ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2016 at midnight due to low popularity. The first International Movies channel to be ceased on Astro.
Zee Variasi ceased broadcasting and transmission on Astro on 1 October 2016 at midnight. Replaced by a new Hindi HD channel called Tara HD on 19 October 2016.
CCTV News rebranded to CGTN on New Year's Eve (31 December) 2016 at 12:00pm.
2017
ITV Choice ceased broadcasting and transmission on Astro on 16 January 2017 at 12:15am due to low viewership.
Life Inspired (except Food Network Asia) officially ceased broadcasting and transmission due to financial losses by the company on 7 October 2017 at midnight stroke.
2018
ZooMoo ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 April 2018 to mitigate further losses by the company. ZooMoo shows moved to Astro Xiao Tai Yang.
Astro Bella ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 October 2018 at midnight due to low viewership. Replaced by Naura HD on the same package with completely different content.
Eve was discontinued and terminated on 1 November 2018.
Astro Maya HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 14 January 2019 at midnight. The programs were later carried by the upgraded Astro Prima and Astro Oasis channels which are both 24-hour dedicated channels and its available to all Astro customers. For NJOI customers who have the HD decoders, they can still enjoy these channels if they are purchasing the unit before 28 April 2021, but new customers buying the new decoder after 28 April 2021 will have to purchase the new NJOI subscription-based pack in order to access these said channels.
The SD version of Disney XD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 March 2019. The HD version of this channel remained until 1 January 2021 due to a review of Disney's business in the region and was replaced by TA-DAA on 15 March 2021.
Channel NewsAsia rebranded to CNA on 29 March 2019 as Channel NewsAsia celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Astro Xi Yue HD ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2019 at midnight because the Overseas event channel would be aired on Channel 338. It is the first Chinese HD channel to be ceased on Astro. Replaced by iQIYI HD starting 17 July 2019 on the same channel number (Channel 300).
A-List ceased broadcasting and transmission on 2 August 2019 at midnight due to low viewership, but its Astro OD (On Demand) service continued.
Tara HD was discontinued and terminated on 1 October 2019. Replaced by Colors Hindi HD at 6.00am.
2020
DIVA and E! Entertainment officially ceased transmission and broadcasting on New Year's Day (1 January) 2020 at midnight stroke as it ceased broadcasts across Asia while programmes on its VOD service and the Astro GO app continued reserved. Replaced by Comedy Central Asia on the same date at 6:00 am until it ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 February 2021 because it officially ceased broadcasts across Asia while its VOD service continued reserved. They are the first historic channels to cease on Astro. DIVA and E! Entertainment shows were moved to Hello (Channel 702, previously Channel 110) but it was ceased on 1 October 2021 and transferred the shows to PRIMEtime.
TVB Classic Movies and Asian Action Channel both ceased broadcasting and transmission on Astro on 5 April 2020 at 00:15 and 00:30 hours respectively under Jade pack.
Kompas TV and NET ceased broadcasting and ceased transmission as Bintang and Pelangi (offered under Indo Pek) on 1 June 2020 at midnight. In substitution, Astro introduced two new HD channels under Indo Pek offerings, SCTV and Indosiar are launched as Astro Rania HD and Astro Aura HD on 23 May 2020 and are also available in On-Demand and the Astro Go app.
Astro Vaanavil was upgraded from SD to HD on 1 June 2020, and made available for all Astro customers. For NJOI customers who have the HD decoders, they can still enjoy the channel if they are purchasing the unit before 28 April 2021, but new customers buying the new HD decoder starting 28 April 2021 will have to purchase the new NJOI HD pack in order to access the said channel.
The SD version of Astro First ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2020.
The SD version of Astro Best ceased broadcasting and transmission on 29 July 2020 while still retaining the HD version of the channel.
The SD versions of Fox Sports channels and Eurosport ceased broadcasting and transmission on 16 November 2020 while still retaining the HD versions of the channels until the HD versions of Fox Sports channels ceased its broadcast on 1 October 2021.
The SD versions of Astro SuperSport channels ceased broadcasting and transmission on 30 November 2020 while still retaining the HD versions of the channels.
2021
Disney Junior and Disney Channel officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on New Year's Day (1 January) 2021 at midnight stroke due to the television provider's refreshed Kids Pack on 14 December 2020 and the officially grand launching and launching ceremony of Disney+ Hotstar in Malaysia on 1 June 2021 and were replaced by Nick Jr. HD and Boomerang HD which launched on the same date. Disney XD ceased broadcasting and transmission on New Year's Day (1 January) 2021 at midnight due to the review of Disney's business in this region and was replaced by TA-DAA! on 15 March 2021. These are the second Kids channels and first HD Kids channels to be ceased on Astro.
Comedy Central Asia (717) ceased broadcasting on 1 February 2021, surviving for barely 13 months after launch because it ceased broadcast in Asia, but its VOD service and the Astro GO app continued reserved (except for Unifi TV). It was replaced by BBC Lifestyle on same channel number on 15 September of the same year.
All SD channels in Astro officially ceased broadcasting and transmission due to all fully officially switched to all HD channels on 28 February 2021 at 11:59:59pm.
Astro Awani was officially upgraded from SD to HD on 29 March 2021 and made available for all Astro customers. For NJOI customers who have the HD decoders they can still enjoy the channel if they are purchasing the unit before 28 April 2021 but new customers buying the new HD decoder starting 28 April 2021 will have to purchase the new NJOI HD subscription-based pack in order to access the said channel.
ANIPLUS on Astro Go ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 April 2021 due to low viewership but its VOD service continued reserved until 11 April 2021.
When Astro launched their new NJOI HD subscription-based package for NJOI customers on 28 April 2021, these 10 HD channels, Astro Prima, Astro Oasis, Astro Vaanavil, Astro Xiao Tai Yang, Astro AEC, CCTV4, Astro Awani, Hello, eGG and Astro Arena are no longer included as standard for new customers with NJOI HD decoders and thus requires them to purchase the said subscription package in order to view these channels. However, these said channels are still available for existing customers who purchased the HD decoders before 28 April 2021.
Astro TVIQ was officially upgraded from SD to HD on 25 May 2021 and made available for all Astro customers.
Astro Box Office Tayangan Hebat ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 June 2021, but its VOD service and the Astro GO app continued reserved.
TVB News Channel was officially discontinued and terminated on 1 July 2021, barely one year after launch due to copyright problems. TVB News programs on TVB Jade continued to be reserved at 7:00am, 6:30pm and 11:00pm until Astro has launched TVB Anywhere+ application on 13 September 2021.
Hello channel officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 30 September 2021 at 11:59:59pm and was replaced by Lifetime and PRIMEtime which were officially opened and launched on 15 September 2021 and Discovery Science ceased broadcasting and transmission at the same date due to review of the channel performance and replaced by Astro's new Nature Channel, BBC Earth. They were first Learning channels to be ceased on Astro. At the same date, ART Variety was officially replaced with ART Movies before officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 February 2022.
Animax officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on New Year's Eve (31 December) 2021 at 11:59:59pm because due to low popularity but its VOD service continued reserved.
2022
Astro TVIQ officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on Chinese New Year’s Eve (31 January) 2022 at 11:59:59pm when TA-DAA! launched on 15 March 2021 at 8:00am with the shows from the now-defunct channel are carried by Astro Ceria and TA-DAA!.
BabyTV officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on Chinese New Year’s Eve (31 January) 2022 at 11:59:59pm because due to all shows and content officially relocated and moved to Disney+ Hotstar in Malaysia and officially replaced by Moonbug Kids.
Naura HD officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 31 January 2022 at 11:59:59pm because due to Naura content on its Astro GO app and its VOD service continued reserved.
Astro Tutor TV PT3 and Astro Tutor TV SPM will be merging into single channel named Astro Tutor TV SMK HD on channel 603 starting 1 April 2022. On the same day, TVBS News, Astro AOD 353, Astro AOD 355 and Makkal TV has ceased transmission and Astro Tutor TV SK and OKEY will be upgraded to HD on channels 601 and 146.
Astro Vellithirai on Astro Go will cease transmission on 14 April 2022 at 1:00am while this channel upgraded to HD at the same day.
Oh!K officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 31 May 2022 at 11:59:59pm, along with ART Movies.
Kix officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2022 at 12:59:15am.
Chutti TV officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 13 October 2022 and were replaced by Sun News, KTV HD and Sun Life.
Astro Vaanavil ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 August 2016. Replaced by Zee Tamil on 1 April 2017. Later, Zee Tamil was replaced by Colors Tamil on 1 April 2019 respectively in HD only.
Makkal TV ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 August 2016. Replaced by Zee TV on 1 April 2017. Later, Zee TV was replaced by Colors on 1 April 2019.
Channel [V] Music, Channel [V] and FOX Crime ceased broadcasting and transmission at midnight, 1 June 2018 due to low rating. First Chinese Channel to cease on Unifi TV, hence replaced by CJ WOW SHOP and Dunia Sinema.
1News Channel ceased broadcasting and transmission at midnight, 1 July 2018 due to low popularity.
HyppSports and HyppSports 2 ceased broadcasting and transmission at midnight, 1 August 2018 as ASN program suppliers ceased operations in Malaysia and Singapore, replaced by Sports Illustrated TV until broadcasts ceased on 1 May 2019.
TVB8 and Stingray iConcerts was discontinued and terminated at midnight, 1 September 2018. Second Chinese Channel to cease on Unifi TV.
Hot FM and One FM ceased broadcasting and transmission on 31 December 2018.
2019
Channel W, HyppSports 3 and Outdoor Channel ceased broadcasting and transmission at midnight, 1 January 2019 due to low popularity of Outdoor Channel.
Now Chinese Drama International Version ceased broadcasting and transmission at midnight, 1 March 2019.
Sony Channel and MUTV, ceased broadcasting and transmission at midnight, 1 June 2019 due to low popularity of MUTV HD.
Bloomberg Television and PlayBox channel were discontinued and terminated at midnight, 1 September 2019.
RED by HBO and BabyFirst were discontinued and terminated at midnight, 1 October 2019.
Now International was discontinued and terminated at midnight, 15 November 2019.
2020
Baogu Movies transited to its VOD service on 1 March 2020.
UTV Movies ceased broadcasting and transmission at midnight, 1 July 2020. Replaced by Yupp Thirai HD and
Animax ceased broadcasting and transmission at the same date due to low popularity of Animax, but relaunched back on 1 October 2021.
2021
Comedy Central Asia officially ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 February 2021 but Comedy Central On Demand still available. Replaced by GEM starting 1 October 2021.
MetroVision ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 November 1999 but relaunched as 8TV on 8 January 2004.
2005
Channel 9 was for a hiatus on 1 February 2005. Replaced by TV9 on 22 April 2006.
2008
TV Pendidikan ceased broadcasting and transmission on 31 December 2008. Replaced by DidikTV KPM on 17 February 2021.
2012
tvN, changed its name with Channel M on 23 November 2012, on 1 June 2016, the channel rebrands into current name.
WBC, closed down since October 2012 due to financial problems.[11]
2017
TVi was replaced with TV5 on 1 April 2017 (rebranded back with TVi on 8 April 2017) due to its rebranding.
Hao Xiang Shopping Channel ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 July 2017, replaced by LAKU Mall on 1 March 2018.[12]
2018
TVi was replaced with TV Okey due to its relaunch on 21 March 2018.[13]
2019
CJ WOWSHOP ceased broadcasting and transmission on 1 January 2019. Later, CJ WOWSHOP officially broadcasting and transmission restore resume again from 15 April 2019 (excluding Unifi TV).
Channel W was discontinued on 1 April 2019, replaced by TVS at myFreeview on 6 February 2021.
2022
Drama Sangat and Media Prima Audio (formerly Ripple Media) radio channels were discontinued and replaced by SUKE TV at myFreeview on 28 March 2022.
Astro Go Shop (Malay) officially ceased broadcasting and transmission in myFreeview on 19 June 2022.
WowShop (Chinese) officially ceased broadcasting and transmission in myFreeview on 2 November 2022.
