KUALA LUMPUR — May 31, 2024 — Amagi, the leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS), today announced its partnership with Malaysia’s leading media and entertainment company, Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (Astro).
Astro, in partnership with Amagi, is modernizing systems and infrastructure for the playout and origination of its existing linear channels and playout disaster recovery capabilities and transitioning them to AWS, the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud. This marks a milestone in ASEAN’s broadcast industry. The Amagi playout deployment will help Astro optimize its media operations, enhance business agility, increase service resilience, and mitigate the risks of maintaining legacy systems.
The upcoming launch of the AWS Asia-Pacific (Malaysia) region complements Astro’s ongoing broadcast transformation journey, which aims to further enable the deployment of innovative media and entertainment solutions. By capitalizing on the robust cloud infrastructure, unparalleled scalability, and advanced services provided by AWS, Astro aims to further improve enhanced in-country network infrastructure resiliency and performance, thus delivering enriched customer experiences.
Defining the Future of Broadcast
Broadcasters have traditionally managed their channel automation and playout systems within on-premises data centers. As Astro continues its expansion across multiple regions, the organization will see workflows being optimized, media operations enhanced, and playout system management streamlined. To further complement the company’s pursuit of these goals, Astro will implement Amagi’s flagship products on AWS: the Amagi CLOUDPORT channel playout platform and the Amagi MONITORING solution. These advanced solutions will support Astro’s commitment to operational excellence, offering enhanced resiliency and enabling quicker upgrades to service capabilities, thereby meeting the evolving needs of the broadcasting landscape.
Mauro Di Pietro Paolo, Chief Technology Officer at Astro, said: “As Malaysia’s leading broadcaster, Astro continues to drive innovation, and our partnership with Amagi underscores our continuous dedication to pioneering advancements in the industry. At Astro, we needed a playout platform that would align with our vision for transformation in our broadcast and media operations, have in-built disaster recovery capabilities, and provide a modernization path for our end-of-life on-premises systems. We’ve selected Amagi because of their proven track record of deploying playout systems on AWS and have demonstrated their ability to be a transformational platform.”
Srinivasan KA, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Amagi, said: “We are delighted to partner with Astro, one of the most innovative and forward-looking media companies in Asia, to help them achieve their cloud transformation goals. By leveraging our cloud-native solutions built on AWS’s global infrastructure, we can provide Astro with a scalable, secure, and cost-effective playout platform to support their current and future needs. This collaboration also demonstrates our commitment to empowering media companies with cutting-edge cloud technology and best-in-class service.”
“The broadcast industry is rapidly changing, requiring broadcasters to stay competitive with increased agility, resiliency, cost efficiency, and unified workflows, which can be achieved with AWS cloud. AWS is proud to work with solutions providers like Amagi to drive the industry forward,” said Pete Murray, Country Manager at AWS. “We’re thrilled to see our long-term customer Astro continue its transformative journey to delight their customers, and with Amagi, we look forward to digitalizing and advancing the future of Malaysia’s media and entertainment industry.”
Amagi and Astro launched broadcast station playout origination on AWS for the first channels and disaster recovery services in May 2024. This marks the first large-scale, cloud-based playout solution by a broadcaster in Malaysia. To meet the ever-changing needs of these networks, Amagi will continue to work closely with Astro to scale and evolve its Amagi CLOUDPORT solution. More information about Amagi and its solutions is available at www.amagi.com.
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About Astro
Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (Astro) is Malaysia’s leading content and entertainment company, serving 5.3 million homes or 67% of Malaysian TV households, 8,400 enterprises, 18.2 million weekly listeners across FM radio and online, and 15.6 million visitors to our digital brands every month. We serve Malaysians with three distinct services – Astro Pay-TV, NJOI Prepaid and sooka, our own OTT for the millennials; and Astro Fibre, our own broadband service, offers greater value with its content-broadband bundles. Close to a million homes are already streaming the best of home entertainment via our Hybrid 4K UHD Ultra Box and HD Ulti Box, which can be self-installed and run on both satellite and broadband. Today, our customers enjoy streaming our local signatures, Astro Originals, live sports and the best global shows from Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, HBO GO, iQIYI, TVBAnywhere+, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, BBC Player, Viu, ZEE5, WeTV, Qalbox by MuslimPro, and our own TV companion app Astro GO. Astro Radio, home to the country’s highest-rated radio brands across all key languages, and our digital brands including AWANI, SYOK, Gempak, Xuan and Astro Ulagam, connect Malaysians to content and stories that matter.
About Amazon Web Services
For over 15 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. AWS offers over 200 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning, and AI, Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 102 Availability Zones (AZs) within 32 geographic regions around the world.
In March 2023, AWS announced plans to launch an AWS Infrastructure Region in Malaysia in 2024. As part of its commitment to the region, AWS is planning to invest $6 billion (approx. MYR 25.5 billion) in Malaysia by 2037.
About Amagi
Amagi is a next-generation media technology company that provides cloud broadcast and targeted advertising solutions to broadcast TV and streaming TV platforms. Amagi enables content owners to launch, distribute, and monetize live linear channels on Free Ad-supported Streaming TV and video services platforms. Amagi also offers 24×7 cloud-managed services bringing simplicity, advanced automation, and transparency to the entire broadcast operations. Overall, Amagi supports 800+ content brands, 800+ playout chains, and over 3800+ channel deliveries on its platform in over 150 countries. Amagi has a presence in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, and broadcast operations in New Delhi, and innovation centers in Bangalore, Zagreb, and Lodz.
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