Astro partners Synamedia to monetise premium video experiences

Astro Malaysia has partnered video software provider Synamedia to deliver a seamless premium video experience to Astro subscribers across all devices. Astro will leverage Synamedia's cloud-based Infinite video platform to secure, distribute and monetise premium video experiences across all screens while deepening viewer engagement. Infinite will also enable Astro customers to have access to all stored and scheduled recordings on the new platform. Infinite will allow Astro customers to enjoy a personalised UX incorporating multi-screen recommendations, multi-lingual search and discovery capability across 40,00 hours of content. This enables them to search for relevant content quickly, enhancing engagement and opening up new revenue opportunities for premium content. Astro consumers are also given the option to upgrade to the new hybrid DTH and IP-enabled 4K UHD set-top boxes with the new UX and cloud-based recording features. This allows users to access the recordings on their DVR at home as well as using the Astro Go app. Astro's CEO Henry Tan said the adoption of a seamless user interface and the deployment of the new 4K UHD set-top-boxes with cloud-based recording will improve the customer experience substantially. "We believe this improvement will spur growth opportunities in our SVOD, TVOD and OTT services," he said. Synamedia's CEO Yves Padrines said the company understands it is important for Astro to embrace the cloud while protecting its existing hybrid broadcast technology investments and ensuring the customer experience remains second to none. "Our experienced systems integration team is doing just that - delivering a smooth transition path that will allow Astro to embrace the myriad new opportunities that Infinite offers," Padrines said.