17 Sep 2021

unifi ups its convergence game with new content offerings

unifi ups its convergence game with new content offerings Article Header
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UNIFI

12 new, exciting linear channels and 7 streaming apps will be available on unifi TV starting 1 October 2021

unifi today announced that it will be offering 12 new channels and seven (7) new streaming apps through its unifi TV starting 1 October 2021, as the brand continues to strengthen its position as the leading convergence service provider in the country and commits to providimg world class, high-quality entertainment for home viewing or while on-the-move. 

The 12 new linear channels are Celestial Movies, CCM, K-Plus, GEM, AXN, Animax, HITS, HITS MOVIES, TechStorm, Arirang TV, SPOTV and SPOTV2. While, the 7 new streaming apps are Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate Play, TVBAnywhere+, iQiyi, Viu, ZEE5 and Simply South. The streaming apps will be available on unifi Plus Box for customers to enjoy at home or can be downloaded into their own smart device for on the move viewing.

Commenting on the launch of the new content line-up, Anand Vijayan, Chief Commercial Officer, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) said he is optimistic that the new offerings on unifi TV will significantly drive sign-ups given the brand’s strength in convergence.

With the addition of the new channels, unifi TV will have a total of 73 channels and 10 streaming apps on its platforms. This is also the first time Lionsgate Play and Simply South will be made available in Malaysia through a content aggregator platform like unifi TV, which is also the country’s first content service provider to offer linear channels and streaming apps in a single platform via unifi Plus Box.

Streaming app Lionsgate Play is home to blockbuster movies, premium originals, and binge-worthy shows. There will be a selection of evergreen and iconic programmes for the whole family on channels like AXN, HITS and HITS MOVIES.

Most of the new channels and streaming app offerings will hit closer to home, providing a wide range of vernacular shows and programmes for everyone. 

Exclusive top-rated local Malay series will be available on Viu and iQiyi, while for the fans of Chinese entertainment content, they will be spoilt for choice with Celestial Movies, CCM, iQiyi and TVBAnywhere+, to satisfy their viewing needs. 

For Indian content lovers, two (2) new streaming app partners, Simply South and ZEE5 have been added to the content line-up for them to enjoy. Both offer a variety of latest entertainment selections in multiple languages like Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and more.

With these new partnerships, unifi TV is also fulfilling the increasing demand for Korean and Japanese content among Malaysians. The K-and J-entertainment fare will be offered via Animax, GEM, Arirang TV, K-Plus, iQiyi and Viu. Meanwhile, TechStorm addresses the youth and young families with the best of Asian esports and technology centric content.

Starting 14 October 2021, unifi TV is also excited to bring in two (2) new channels for adrenaline junkies and sports fans, SPOTV and SPOTV2. These channels offer the best of sports with extensive coverage of Tennis Grand Slam Wimbledon, US Open, MotoGP, The Open Championship (British Open) and other action-packed sports programs. unifi TV is also bringing in thrilling “live” UFC events featuring world-class mixed martial arts action, as part of the main highlights in its home-grown channel, unifi Sports, in addition to exclusive Liga Super and TM Piala Malaysia matches.

In conjunction with the launch, unifi TV will be offering complimentary viewing of the 12 new channels to all unifi TV packs subscribers until 31 December 2021. As an added benefit to Ultimate Pack subscribers, they will get to enjoy exclusive streaming access to Lionsgate Play and another one (1) app of their choice from a selection of iQiyi, Viu, Simply South or ZEE5, at no additional costs. The access to streaming apps can be redeemed at https://activate.unifi.com.my starting 24 September 2021.

Anand added that the new offerings are in line with the company’s robust efforts to provide quality and relevant content to its users. “The new channels and streaming app providers were selected after rigorous screening to ensure that we have something the whole family would enjoy - from grandparents to housewives, working adults to youngsters. These new channels can be accessed via the unifi TV media box, unifi Plus Box, or anywhere via the unifi PlayTV app,” he said.

These new channels will also come with on-demand viewing. More information about these exciting new contents can be found on www.unifi.com.my/tv.

In another development, following the decision by The Walt Disney Company in April this year to discontinue the airing of most of its linear channels in Southeast Asia, unifi also announced that 17 channels from The Walt Disney Company on its unifi TV will be discontinued starting 1 October 2021.  The channels are FOX, FOX Life, FX, SCM Legend, SCM, Star Chinese Channel, FOX Action Movies, FOX Family Movies, FOX Movies, Nat Geo People, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Baby TV, Sky News, FOX Sports, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports 3. 

This development is expected to have minimal impact on users as unifi will be rolling out more content variety and streaming app partners in the next few months to ensure subscribers’ viewing needs are met.

As a leading content aggregator in Malaysia, unifi continuously strives in meeting the dynamic shift of consumers’ content consumption in line with the digital lifestyle. Stay tuned as unifi will be rolling out more content variety and streaming app partners in the next few months to ensure subscribers’ viewing needs are met.

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TM GLOBAL BAGS A DOUBLE WIN AT THE ASIAN TELECOM AWARDS 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 March 2024 – TM Global, the domestic and international wholesale business arm of TM, clinched top honours in two prestigious categories: Telecom Company of the Year – Malaysia, and the Wholesale Company Initiative of the Year – Malaysia, at the Asian Telecom Awards held in Singapore. This marks the second consecutive year TM Global has received these accolades, solidifying its position as a leader in shaping the telecommunications landscape within Malaysia and across Asia. Khairul Liza Ibrahim, Executive Vice President of TM Global, said, "The awards underscore TM Global’s efforts as a catalyst of digital adoption across industries and the nation’s 5G ecosystem. Internationally, we serve as the gateway for businesses seeking to expand into ASEAN and vice versa. TM Global plays a pivotal role in advancing AI implementation and platform-play services and remains committed to driving innovation and bringing connectivity and digitalisation to all corners of the country." She further emphasised TM Global's transition from a traditional telco wholesaler to a digital enabler, "Our strategic shift up the value chain has enabled us to deliver a versatile edge ecosystem, empowering the next wave of technologies and applications. This recognition is a reaffirmation of our work in pioneering digital solutions to transcend borders and driving connectivity across the region." TM Global’s initiatives continue to help narrow the digital divide and nurture digital opportunities through the expansion of high-capacity connectivity infrastructure nationwide and the deployment of two additional International Internet Gateways in East Malaysia. Internationally, TM Global continued to bolster its connectivity strength, facilitate content distribution through TM Edge, and expand its platform services to connect service providers worldwide with the vibrant ASEAN market. The Asian Telecom Awards, hosted by the Asian Telecom magazine, a publication of the global Charlton Media Group, honours businesses and initiatives that are not only driving progress in the telecom industry, but have also ignited transformative shifts that have reshaped the digital landscape. These recognitions are a testament to TM Global’s ability to support regional and international service providers through comprehensive digital infrastructure solutions, providing a seamless gateway for their expansion into the region.

Funding Societies and TMIM team up to provide digital financing access and support to MSMEs

Financial assistance for underserved local MSMEs from Funding Societies utilising Yellow Pages digital advertising solutions to help with business expansion and sustainability during these challenging times. ​​​​Funding Societies Malaysia, the largest peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platform in the country and Southeast Asia recently collaborated with TM Info-Media Sdn Bhd (TMIM), a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) to offer business financing solutions for the underserved and unserved local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The mission kicks off into high gear with the prime utilisation of Yellow Pages' digital platform, a product of TMIM and also the leading digital business directory in Malaysia. The collaboration will provide MSMEs with greater access to digital financing solutions. The solutions will facilitate business expansions as well as ensure sustainability of the MSMEs. It provides vital financing options to existing MSMEs and serves as a launch pad to aspiring entrepreneurs. The synergistic collaboration takes momentous steps towards Funding Societies' mission to improve the livelihoods of MSMEs and TM's role as the enabler of Digital Malaysia. It also opens the door for as many as 70,000 MSMEs under the Yellow Pages listings to a variety of tailor-made financing products. With the aim of bringing game-changing revolutions to their customers, Yellow Pages Malaysia is no stranger to making innovative transformations in order to stay current in the digital age. Wong Kah Meng, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Funding Societies Malaysia, commented on the partnership: "Digital financing is becoming more prevalent in Malaysia given its ability to promote financial inclusion, particularly benefiting the MSMEs that are either unserved or underserved by traditional financing avenues by providing easy access to financing solutions. As the largest P2P financing platform in the region, our partnership with TMIM will serve to accelerate our reach in providing the financing support that is much needed by our local MSME players. This is especially relevant given MSMEs are among the most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic." Meanwhile, Sean Koh Chin Soon, Chief Executive Officer, TMIM said: "Our Malaysia Yellow Pages platform which has evolved from print to digital, interactive website and mobile app, is the perfect avenue to bridge the MSMEs out there with the resources they require. We are excited to collaborate with Funding Societies Malaysia in empowering local businesses through financial solutions. This will enable them to further expand their potentials thus supporting the sustainability of the businesses, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. This is also in line with the Government's efforts to boost the growth of Malaysian economy and to propel local businesses. This initiative is befitting of TM Group's unique role in nation building and as the enabler of Malaysia's Digital Nation aspirations." P2P financing is a digital financing solution that has been gaining traction in recent years. Its modern approach and speedy process makes pain points of traditional financing a thing of the past. Such setbacks including collateral requirement, onerous documentation, slow turnaround time, and high minimum requirements, all posed as hurdles for smaller businesses to obtain quick financing assistance. Through this collaboration, eligible businesses on the Yellow Pages platform can apply for the financing from Funding Societies without even needing to visit a physical branch. Eligible MSMEs stand to enjoy the following financing benefits from Funding Societies: Discount on processing fee Fast disbursement with quick approval within five (5) working days Flexible tenure of up to 18 months No collateral requirement Minimal documentation requirement Besides the collaboration with Funding Societies, TM through its consumer and SME product brand, unifi has also been continuously assisting businesses to stay productive in this emerging digital economy. Via unifi Business Club (uBC) specifically for its SME customers, unifi enables access to complete business solutions which include digital marketing tools, productivity boosters and financial solutions. By allowing businesses to leverage on its strategic partnerships, unifi aims to expedite its customers' recovery and enhance sustainability. Interested MSMEs can apply for financing from Funding Societies on Yellow Pages website starting 5 October 2020. For more information on the partnership between Funding Societies and TMIM, please visit https://biz.yp.my/solutions/yellowpagesfinancing/.

TM records steady performance in 1Q2022 with revenue & PATAMI up 2.9% & 4.4%; maintains focus on its growth strategies execution

In the second year of its Transformation, the Group is on track to achieve its 2022 market guidance, focusing on strengthening its core businesses and investing in new growth areas Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) continued its growth trajectory and long-term business sustainability, recording a steady performance in its First Quarter ended 31 March 2022 as compared to the same period last year (YoY). The Group's operating revenue increased by 2.9% to RM2.89 billion, compared to RM2.81 billion in the same quarter last year, driven primarily by increased demand for voice, Internet and multimedia. Despite rising competition to offer converged solutions among telco and other technology players, TM continued to deliver strong customer growth across its operations. Capitalising on its core businesses and investing into new growth areas, TM further ramped up its transformation initiatives, delivering profit after tax and non-controlling interests (PATAMI) for the quarter at RM339.9 million or 4.4% higher than the RM325.5 million recorded in 1Q2021. The Group also recorded lower financial costs subsequent to the early redemption of its RM2.0 billion sukuk in March 2021, as well as lower foreign exchange translation losses on borrowings. The Group has applied the Cukai Makmur statutory tax rate accordingly for the current quarter. Accelerating into the second year of its Transformation, TM brought forward its manpower optimisation to enable earlier realisation of expected benefits to the Group. This, along with foreign exchange impact on trade settlement has led to a 5.0% decrease in EBIT at RM560.4 million for 1Q2022 compared to RM589.7 million in the same quarter last year. Excluding these costs, the Group's underlying EBIT is 14.0% higher at RM650.2 million compared to RM570.5 million in 1Q 2021. Free Cash Flow is lower by 15.1% at RM658.8 million compared to RM775.7 million due to higher CAPEX as the Group continues to invest in business expansion and meeting customers' demands through technology refresh and network delivery, ensuring steady growth. unifi: Double-digit revenue and subscriber growth unifi continued its growth performance, recording revenue increase of 10.6% from RM1.25 billion to RM1.38 billion in the current quarter. Sustained by increasing demand from Internet, voice and sales of devices, with cumulative fixed Internet subscribers increasing by 17.5% against the corresponding quarter last year. unifi remains the largest growth contributor for the Group. unifi will continue to maintain its leadership in fixed broadband and enhance its Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC), enriched with TV and streaming content. 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On the international front, it will continue to serve other OTTs and hyperscalers with connectivity and data centres, while regionally, TM Wholesale aspires to establish Malaysia as a digital hub for ASEAN via new submarine cables, enhanced data centre solutions and edge computing. TM One: Renewed focus on growing B2B digital solutions market TM One, the Group's enterprise and public sector arm, recorded a 7.4% decrease in revenue from RM925.2 million to RM856.8 million in 1Q2022 due to decline in data services revenue. Strengthening and growing its B2B digital solutions, TM One has focused its efforts on high potential industry verticals, namely healthcare, manufacturing, education, oil & gas, banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) and public sector. It has entered a partnership with Tune Protect and Huawei Malaysia that saw Tune Protect becoming the first organisation in Malaysia to host an insurance core system on public cloud (Cloud αEdge). Commentary and Outlook from Imri Mokhtar, TM Group Chief Executive Officer "With our economy and borders reopening, TM is powering Malaysia's journey on its road towards recovery, by ensuring the vision of an inclusive and extensive Digital Malaysia becomes a reality. "Into the second year of our Transformation, we are focused on strengthening our core business while investing into new growth areas to meet customers' demands. In ensuring sustainability in the long run, we continue to grow our profitability to invest and seize opportunities arising from digital acceleration. "One of these opportunities is in the exciting space of digital solutions and services for enterprises. Building on TM One's existing capability and relationships with enterprises and the public sector, we will deliver speed and agility through our new digital arm Credence: a corporate start-up led by technology leaders. "unifi continues to better its fixed broadband and Fixed-Mobile Convergence value proposition to improve customer experience, while expanding our offerings to provide quality entertainment to customers at home or on-the-go. "We have also achieved some key milestones in our sustainability efforts. TM One has successfully secured the Green Electricity Tariff from Tenaga Nasional Berhad for its data centres in Kuala Lumpur, Cyberjaya and Johor Bahru, contributing to a lower carbon footprint as the demand for cloud storage inevitably increases. This is in addition to the existing Green Building Index (GBI) certification earlier obtained for its core data centres. TM's broader ESG commitment also remains consistent with Malaysia's initiatives towards achieving net-zero Greenhouse Gas emission for the country by 2050. 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