Malaysia is a hotbed of digital activity at the moment, not least because there’s high interest in what Telekom Malaysia is going to do with its video platform now than long-time platform head, Jeremy Kung, has gone; where Maxis’ future lies in relation to Astro in Ananda Krishnan’s media empire; and how Indonesian plans to woo Malaysian consumers might play out.

There are also the new players – MVTV from MBits Digital and Longvision’s Longtv – fresh out of the gate with no legacy infrastructure and a catalogue of sound-good concepts and promises.

MBits Digital has unveiled a new broadcast platform, MVTV Asia, that promises 60% local Malaysian content across multiple genres, a “Digital One Belt One Road” initiative with streaming platforms across the region, tech innovation and fund-raising opportunities.

The cross-device video platform rolls out from June 2018, beginning with a mobile app and followed by a set-top box in September. The app will carry a mix of free and subscription-based entertainment, and the set-top box will be free with a lock-in subscription period. Pricing has not been disclosed.

In addition to movies, TV series and variety, MVTV Asia will include local original content creation campaigns, including “Inspirasi YES Malaysia” (entertainment stars tell their stories) and “Memori KampungKU” (user generated content about hometowns). Acquired content is from Indonesia, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Details have not been disclosed.

Streaming partners in the “mutual content distribution” initiative so far are ZTE, China Mobile’s MIGU, CCTV’s Future TV, and Shanghai Media Group’s BesTV. MVTV Asia is also building a programatic online advertising system with Fractalist and Adinall from China.

MBits Digital says it is determined to “bring local content to the world... We are forging a United Asian content network by initiating co-production content along the region,” says MBits Digital founder/MVTV Asia CEO, Sara Nattaya Azmi.

MBits unveiled its plans less than a year after it announced a MoU with China’s PowerChina and Longvision Media as strategic partners. The total investment touted at the time was RM6.95 billion/US$1.6 billion, and the vision laid out included cloud services and smart township developments.

Having exited that partnership, Longvision is going it alone on Malaysia’s media front (or rather, with a slew of new MoU partners).

Longvision’s plans are for an affordable family-friendly service, Longtv, which will be up and running by mid-2018. The target is 300,000 subscribers by year end. The Longtv proposition is a plug-and-play Android box and a mobile app.

Meanwhile, emerging markets streaming platform, iflix, is venturing into branded content for the first time, hiring Craig Galvin to drive the short-form initiative under the Studio2:15 shingle. iflix chief content officer, Sean Carey, called Studio2:15 “a monumental step” in expanding iflix’s footprint into “highly engaging and viral short-form content”.

Incumbents have no intention of sitting around scratching themselves waiting for the competition to fly... or fail. Former pay-TV monopoly and premium entertainment provider, Astro, is polishing up its tech and sharpening its content, all with the aim of turning its in-home dominance into a second-to-none experience. At the same time, Media Prima’s tonton is in high-gear, rolling out on smart TVs from Samsung, LG and Panasonic, making the brand available on Chromecast, and putting the finishing touches to some sparkly new moves that will be unveiled later this year. Clearly the action will be long running.

Originally published in the print issue for APOS 2018