Astro thanks all Malaysians for supporting its initiatives to keep the nation informed and entertained during the Movement Control Order (MCO).

Its complimentary viewing for Astro and NJOI customers, as well as complimentary Astro GO access for all Malaysians, now extended until 14 April 2020, received a positive response. Astro’s TV viewership increased by 43% while daily time spent rose 30% since the start of MCO.

With complimentary viewing of all movie channels for all Astro customers, TV viewership for English movies and entertainment jumped over 200%. All news channels are also made available for all Astro customers and they registered a 71% rise in TV viewership. Astro’s news teams from Awani, Radio and Digital teams are doing their part to keep Malaysians informed, as well as debunking fake news.

In the first five days of MCO, 5.5 million Malaysians watched Astro Awani while its website and app registered a 15% and 13% increase in unique visitors respectively. Astro GO was well received by all Malaysians with over 78k new registrations. Kids shows also dominated viewership on Astro GO during this period. Astro kids channels garnered a daily average of 4.2 million viewers during the 5 days MCO period with Ceria having 35% of the viewing share.

Astro’s digital brands saw their monthly unique visitors rose by 18%. Growth mainly came from its news brands (Awani, Xuan and Rojak Daily), as well as lifestyle brands (Rasa, Remaja and Mingguan Wanita). With Malaysians cooking more during the MCO, Rasa.my has become a popular destination for culinary inspiration.

Wong See Wei, Director of Astro Media Solutions said, “We have seen significant shift in consumer behaviour during the MCO as Malaysians stay home, and this is reflected in the increase in our engagement and traffic. Brands need to change the way they reach out to consumers as Malaysians navigate a ‘new normal’.”

Malaysia’s 1st Concert@Home on Astro

In response to the change in consumer behaviour, Astro has developed a series of messages across its TV, radio, digital platforms to encourage Malaysians to #dudukrumah and still enjoy life with their loved ones.

In partnership with Etika, Astro is bringing concerts by top Malaysian artists to homes, as well opportunities to take part in challenges to win prizes. #WONDADiRumah is Malaysia’s first 7-day Concert@Home on Astro Ria and Era.je’s IGTV. This is one of the many customised solutions for advertisers who wants to stay engaged with their customers during this period.