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| Formerly | AMP Radio Networks (1996 - 2012) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Radio network, Broadcasting |
| Predecessor | Airtime Management and Programming Sdn. Bhd. |
| Founded |
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| Defunct |
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| Headquarters | All Asia Broadcast Centre, Technology Park Malaysia, Bukit Jalil, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Area served | |
Key people | Kenny Ong Chun Eng Chief executive officer |
| Brands |
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| Parent | Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad |
| Website | astroradio |
Astro Radio (formerly known as Airtime Management and Programming or simply AMP Radio Networks) is a Malaysian radio network company which operates radio broadcasting services and more since 1996. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad. Astro Radio owns and manages 13 private radio stations which are transmitted through the FM (frequency modulation) radio spectrum. As of November 2021, Astro Radio still remains as the number one and largest radio network companyinMalaysia with 77.7% of Peninsular Malaysians and 15.6 million listeners tuning in to its stations weekly, together with its Media Prima counterpart, Media Prima Audio, according to the GfK Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) Wave 1 in October 2021.[1] Era being at top of the list with the most audience reach estimated at 6,000,000 listeners, followed by Sinar and Gegar.
Astro Radio was officially launched on 1 June 1996 as Airtime Management and Programming Sdn. Bhd. with the very first time five opened audio only including Hitz, Mix, Light & Easy, Classic Rock and TalkRadio.
Airtime Management and Programming Sdn. Bhd. (now AMP Radio Networks) operates eight terrestrial FM networks: Era FM, MY FM, Hitz FM, Mix FM, LiteFM, Sinar FM, Melody FM & THR.fm (now THR Raaga and THR Gegar). AMP broadcasts in four languages with 11.5 million Malaysians tuning in weekly.
AMP is the sole provider of 19 satellite radio services (which include the nine FM services and are available to all Astro subscribers in Malaysia and Brunei), the first South-East Asian broadcaster to utilise LIU (local insertion units) for local or regional advertisers and utilises Dynamic RDS (Radio Data System) as a commercial tool. Internationally, AMP also had involvement in the growth of radio industries in India, Indonesia and China.
AMP develops complementary platforms including on-air, on-ground, on-line and mobile technologies.
In 2012, as part of the expansion of its operations, AMP Radio Networks became Astro Radio Sdn. Bhd.
In October 2017, Astro Radio announced the launch of two new radio brands - goXuan FM and Zayan FM for a new generation of smart, technology and socially connected along with the new generation of listeners who are trendsetters and influencers in the digital and social media space. Zayan is the first Malaysian radio brand for modern Muslims, it aspires to serve this growing community by delivering music, content and dialogue that reverberates among them. While GoXuan goes where the trendsetting Chinese Gen Z are making their mark. Astro Radio has built a state of art live broadcast studio from which the brand will stream live entertainment content via its digital platforms throughout the whole day. Unlike any other radio brand in Malaysia, goXUAN is visually-led.[2]
On 1 January 2018, Astro Radio dropped the suffix “FM” as part of the rebranding for all its 11 radio stations, to focus on digital platform, inline with the current technology development.
"...Over the years, social media has proven to be a great platform to engage with our fans. Delivering content in this digital age means; engaging with our fans through various interactive platforms that drive talkability and social engagement. Platforms like these enable us to build a community of fans centered on tastemakers, such as our own talent who are household names.”[3]
— Jake Abdullah, former Chief Executive Officer of Astro Radio.
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In October 2023, HITZ and MY broadcasts for Sabah and Sarawak have been completely stopped by Astro Radio and will be returned to Bukit Jalil.[4][5]
In January 2024, ERA Sabah and ERA Sarawak have officially started broadcasting from Bukit Jalil. As a result, ERA Sabah and ERA Sarawak will not be stopped by Astro Radio until now.[6]
After 13 years of Astro Radio being based in Sabah, radio station Hitz FM Sabah and MY FM Sabah closed its office operations in the state effective September 30.
English language radio channels, Hitz Sabah and MY Sabah for Chinese will return their broadcasts to Kuala Lumpur.
However, Era Sabah was not stopped and still maintains the existing presenter but will be based in Kuala Lumpur.
"Astro Radio Sabah office operations will be closed with effect from 30 September 2023. There will be no more operational employees and only full-time staff will be given VSS (Voluntary Redundancy).
The former Content and Digital Head of Astro Radio Sabah, Ily Lia Affiqah, said that the English language radio channels, Hitz Sabah and MY Sabah for Chinese will return their broadcasts to Kuala Lumpur.
"However, fans can still listen to Era Sabah broadcasts as usual. It will only be broadcast from Bukit Jalil (Astro headquarters).
"All presenters will be broadcasting from Kota Kinabalu until December 31 before all operations are fully transferred to Bukit Jalil in January next year.
"Hitz Sabah and MY Sabah broadcasts will also be restored. There will be no presenters or local content for these two channels starting September 30," he told Harian Metro.
According to Ily, it is possible that not all Era Sabah presenters will continue to serve since some of them will not be moving to Kuala Lumpur next year.
He said the decision to stop the operation of the Astro Radio Sabah office was reached last August.
According to him, Astro Radio Sarawak's office operations were also stopped effective last Saturday.
Ily added, as an individual who had been with the radio for almost 13 years, he admitted that he was sad but agreed with the decision involved.
"It's time for me to try a new direction. I started as a Sabah Era presenter at the age of 19, but had to leave this station with mixed feelings.
"This is my first job and it can be said that I grew up with Astro Radio. I learned a lot and helped pave the way for me to develop a career in the entertainment field in Sabah.
"However, every meeting will have a farewell. I want to thank all my friends at Astro Radio Sabah. They are all like family to me," he said.
For the record, Ily is the first Era Sabah presenter with Beebey since Astro Radio expanded its wings to the state on October 1, 2010 under the Era Sabah brand.
— Former Content and Digital Head of Astro Radio Sabah, Ily Lia Affiqah.
Astro Radio launched a radio and music streaming service platform known as Raku and then DVR Player in April 2015 through mobile and web. Raku is a short-form for Radio Aku (‘My Radio’ in Malay). Through Raku, Malaysians can stream millions of songs, videos and playlists curated by top local artistes including Yuna, Paper Plane Pursuit, Dasha Logan and many more. Users can also listen to more than 20 live radio stations through the free and premium versions of Raku. The application also provides local community updates such as articles, news, traffic and sports. Raku is available in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. However, Raku services were rebranded into the new Syok platform in 2019.[7]
Astro Radio launched a multilingual entertainment and lifestyle platform known as Syok, stylised as SYOK in July 2019. The platform can allow users to listen to 26 Astro Radio brands (including online-only stations or Direct-To-Home [DTH] stations that are available on Astro TV, and East Malaysian stations) via live online streaming, listen to podcasts of all live radio and exclusive content, watch original short-form videos, read current articles, news and traffic updates and participate in contests.[8][9]
Syok also offered pop-up stations, featuring tracks for some occasions, such as Public holidays in Malaysia. In addition, they also provide Featured Radio, which include partnered radio stations such as Red Radio (in partnership with AirAsia), Rakita, AFO RADIO, and ABS-CBN Corporation (TeleRadyo, MOR Entertainment and MyxRadio).
| Station | Explanation | Language | Year of Launch | Astro Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitz | The latest English songs, focused on younger listeners. Rebranded, with a dot, in 2001. One of the first radio channels by AMP to be launched in 1996. | English | 1996 | 852 |
| Lite | The oldest and latest songs for mature listeners. It was previously known as Light & Easy. One of the first radio channels by AMP to be launched in 1996. | English | 1996 | 854→ |
| Mix | The station plays adult contemporary music from the 90s and now, targeting listeners between the ages of 25 and 39. | English | 1996 (as an Astro-only audio channel), 1997 (as an FM radio station) | 855 |
| Era | The latest songs from domestic and international repertoire, focused on younger listeners. This radio station is the first private radio station, to be broadcast completely in Malay, after being dominated by government-owned radio station for years. | Malay | 1996 (as an Astro-only audio channel), 1998 (as an FM radio station) | 856 |
| My | Chinese songs for all ages. Formerly known as Chuan Zhen Xin Qu Tai (傳真心曲台) during the early years of broadcast. | Chinese | 1996 (as an Astro-only audio channel), 1998 (as an FM radio station) | 853 |
| Sinar | The oldest and latest songs from domestic and international repertoire, focused on mature listeners. Formerly known as Wirama Melayu during the early years of broadcast. | Malay | 1998 (as an Astro-only audio channel) , 2004 (as an FM radio station) | 857 |
| Gegar | A Malay-language radio station targeting the East Coast area. | Malay | 1994 (original, as THR), 2005 (acquisition) | 863 |
| Raaga | Astro Radio's only Tamil-language radio station, targeting the West Coast area. | Tamil | 1994 (original, as THR), 2005 (acquisition) | 859 |
| Melody | The oldest and latest songs, focused on mature listeners. | Chinese | 1998 (as an Astro-only audio channel), 2012 (as an FM radio station) | 858 |
| Go Xuan | The latest songs and digital-first Chinese entertainment, focused on young listeners. | Chinese | 2017 | 877 |
| Zayan | The latest songs from domestic and international repertoire, focused on modern and contemporary Muslim listeners. | Malay | 2017 | 876 |
AMP changed its line-up, swapping two of its English FM brands, namely Classic Rock and TalkRadio, for ERA FM (Bahasa Malaysia) and MY FM (Chinese), respectively. Melody FM was launched on 15 August 2012 to replace XFM on FM and Astro.
| Station | Explanation | Language | Year of Launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Rock | The oldest and latest songs from rock music. However, it continues to be broadcast on Astro and via online only. | English | 1997 |
| TalkRadio | News and talk radio show; ceased broadcasting in 1998 | English | 1997 |
| XFM | Songs from Malaysian artists only, focused on younger listeners. However, it continues to be broadcast as an online station before ceased broadcasting in 2017 | Malay | 2004 |
| Hitz Sabah | This radio station was discontinued on 1 October 2023 and its frequency was taken over by Hitz. | English | 2010 |
| Hitz Sarawak | This radio station was discontinued on 1 October 2023 and its frequency was taken over by Hitz. | English | 2010 |
| My Sabah | This radio station was discontinued on 1 October 2023 and its frequency was taken over by My. | Mandarin | 2010 |
| My Sarawak | This radio station was discontinued on 1 October 2023 and its frequency was taken over by My. | Mandarin | 2010 |
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| Corporate directors |
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| Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd |
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| Astro Overseas Limited |
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| Defunct |
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