Television

From MalaysiaExpat

Television in Malaysia is a pretty sorry affair. The free broadcast TV is insipid, the media equivalent of overcooked white rice. The main satellite provider, Astro, provides unreliable service and charges monopoly rates. MITV is completely pointless. It is illegal to watch TV any other way; for example, even though it's easy to do, you are not allowed to receive satellite broadcasts aimed at Thailand.

All television, whether it be free-to-air or satellite, is subjected to the same censorship regime. Kisses, allusions to gay issues, and many religious and political themes are summarily excised (violence, however, seems to be no problem). This of course is one of the major reasons why DVD piracy is so endemic here - for many people, the key factor is not the price, but simply being able to watch a normal film or TV show that hasn't been cut to ribbons by overzealous censors.

Broadcast TV

All of the free-to-air stations are owned either by the government, or by the long-time ruling party, UMNO (through Media Prima). That's right, there are no politically independent TV stations in Malaysia. They are remarkably bland, and the domestic news coverage is so obviously biased as to be useless. This situation has disturbing implications for the state of democracy in the country, but that's a debate for another day.

• RTM1 - Channel 1 - Mostly Malay talk shows.
• RTM2 - Channel 2 - Mixture of Malay, English, Chinese, and Tamil programming.
• TV3 - Channel 3 - Mostly in Malay language, with a few American shows.
• NTV7 - Channel 7 - Mostly imported programming.
• 8TV - Channel 8 - Mostly imported programming in English and Chinese, aimed at the teen and young adult audience.
• TV9 - Channel 9 - Mixture of local Malay-language shows and imports.

Astro (satellite)

Astro offers about 60 channels via satellite. Astro dishes are ubiquitous in Malaysia; you'll even see them teetering on the roofs of three-walled, tin-roofed shacks. Subscription costs between RM50 and RM150/month depending on the channels selected. There are frequent special offers that may reduce or eliminate the installation charge.

The "HBO" and "Cinemax" channels offered through Astro bear little resemblance to their namesakes, so don't get your hopes up. The films are several years old and they show almost none of the HBO/Cinemax original programming. Everything is subject to the same censorship as broadcast TV.

MITV (satellite)

MITV repackages free satellite broadcasts (mostly cultural propaganda channels from Asian and European nations) and charges subscribers to watch them. This is potentially a viable business model since it is illegal for Malaysians to simply put up a satellite dish and receive these channels directly. Put another way, MITV is prima facie evidence of corruption in the Malaysian system - it is a company that earns money by providing a product that could not possibly be necessary if not for a special law in its favour.