Malaysian entertainment provider Astro has chosen the Kaltura TV Platform to power sooka, its new streaming service that’s targeting millennials.
The service went live in June across Malaysia and is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Kaltura technology enables Astro to deliver linear channels, live events and on-demand viewing experiences on web and iOS and Android mobile devices.
Kaltura was selected because of its multiple worldwide reference cloud TV deployments following an international request for proposals. A major factor in the company’s selection was the flexibility of the Kaltura TV Platform. This allowed Astro to incorporate multiple business models and payment methods such as Google In-App Billing, and Apple In-App Purchase, with Direct Carrier Billing soon to follow.
“We created sooka as a standalone streaming service offering to capture the digital and mobile-first millennials with a unique value proposition in the face of an increasingly crowded OTT space,” said Euan Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Pay-TV and Group COO at Astro. “The flexibility of Kaltura’s TV Platform allows us to quickly adapt to viewer preferences and engagement models and it supports our business model. Kaltura was able to smoothly integrate the solution into our existing ecosystem, and very rapidly meet our tight timeline,”
“Pay-TV providers everywhere are recognizing the advantages of cloud TV as the optimal engine for offering Over-The-Top (OTT) services as part of a super-aggregation strategy, and the best way to reach audiences wherever they are,” said Nuno Sanches, General Manager, Media and Telecom at Kaltura. “We are proud to be entrusted by Astro for the launch of sooka, and we look forward to continuing to support Astro as it engages more and more subscribers with this exciting new cloud TV service.”
Astro currently serves 5.7 million homes or 73% of Malaysian TV households.
