Astro Radio

Astro Radio Sdn Bhd
Type Broadcast radio network
Country Malaysia
Availability National
Owner Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd
Launch date
 1997
Former names
 Airtime Management & Programming Sdn Bhd (AMP Radio Networks)
Official website
 www.astroradio.com.my

Astro Radio Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Airtime Management and Programming Sdn Bhd or AMP Radio Networks) is a Malaysian radio network company owned by Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd that is owned by Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd.

Company background

Airtime Management & Programming Radio Network Sdn Bhd (AMP Radio Network) has revolutionised Malaysian airwaves since 1996, introducing format-specific programming; a new concept to commercial radio in Malaysia. It operates eight high-ranking terrestrial FM networks, namely ERA fm, MY FM, hitz.fm, MIX fm, LiteFM, SINAR fm, Melody FM & THR (Raaga and Gegar). AMP is South-East Asia’s furthest-reaching and most successful multi-lingual broadcaster, broadcasting in four languages and with 11.5 million Malaysians tuning in weekly.

Now into its 15th year of operation, AMP has many milestones as part of its dynamic history. In little more than a decade, AMP has chalked up many achievements as Malaysia’s pioneer for format radio, 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 pioneering South-East Asian broadcaster to utilise LIU (local insertion units) for local or regional advertisers and in utilising Dynamic RDS (Radio Data System) as a commercial tool. Internationally, AMP has also had a strong involvement in the growth of the radio industries in India, Indonesia and China.

AMP continues to be one of the most advanced radio broadcast facilities in Asia and is a constant award-winner in various categories of creativity and technology. AMP develops complimentary platforms to extend the value of radio including on-air, on-ground, on-line and mobile technologies. For businesses, this highly effective combination allows multi-platform communication directly to a particular target audience.

Stations

Station Explanation Language Year of launch Astro channel
Hitz FM 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 1997 English 1997 852
MIX fm The oldest and latest English songs, focused on mature listeners. One of the first radio channels by AMP to be launched in 1997 English 1997 855
LiteFM 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 1997 English 1997 854
Era The oldest and latest songs from domestic and international repertoire, focused on younger listeners. The radio station is the first private radio station, to be broadcast completely in Malay language, after being dominated by government-owned radio station for years Malay 1997 (as an Astro-only audio channel), 1998 (as an FM radio station) 856
SINAR fm The oldest and latest songs from domestic and international repertoire, focused on mature listeners Malay 2004 857
Melody FM The oldest and latest songs, focused on mature listeners Chinese 1997 (as an Astro-only audio channel), 2012 (as an FM radio station) 858
THR Raaga The Raaga station plays Tamil songs for the West Coast Tamil 1994 (original), 2005 (acquisition) 859
THR Gegar The Gegar station plays Malay songs for the East Coast Malay 1994 (original), 2005 (acquisition) 863
My FM Chinese songs for all ages. Formerly known as Chuan Zhen Xin Qu Tai or 傳真心曲台 Chinese 1997 (as an Astro-only audio channel), 1998 (as an FM radio station) 853

Defunct radio stations

Both radio stations, were originally two of the five first radio stations, when it was launched in 1997. Over the one-year period, demand grew for radio content in Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese, as radio listeners who were exposed to AMP’s English brands wanted the same formats but in other major local languages. This compelled AMP to make changes to its line-up, and swapping two of its English FM brands, namely Classic Rock and TalkRadio, for ERA FM (Bahasa Malaysia) and MY FM (Chinese), respectively. Later, due to a high demand that Chinese listeners who have a need of a channel that focuses to older listeners like Lite FM and Sinar FM, but mostly has been the current format. Melody FM was lanuched on 15 August 2012 to replace XFM on FM and Astro.

Station Explanation
Classic Rock The oldest and latest songs from rock music. However, it continues to be broadcast as Astro-only radio station
TalkRadio News and talk radio show; ceased broadcasting in 1998
XFM Songs from Malaysian artists only, focused on younger listeners. However, it continues to be broadcast as an online station

References

    External links

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