SYDNEY—Online content delivery solution provider Switch Media has announced that Malaysia’s first and largest video streaming network Tonton is using its MediaHQ online content publishing platform for AVOD and SVOD services.
Tonton is owned and operated by media powerhouse Media Prima, which owns and operates a wide range of media outlets including: four national broadcasted TV stations, five national radio stations, three national newspapers, an out of home network and Malaysia’s widest reaching digital content platforms.
Tonton, which is very well known across the country, originally launched back in 2010 and has been through several iterations since then.
“We took an in-depth look at what Tonton had been doing and where they wanted their OTT business to get to – a vital component of what we do – and it was immediately clear that our modular MediaHQ platform would be ideal for them,” explained Oscar Gutierrez, Switch Media’s vice president of business development. “It provides a level of flexibility and adaptability, via the ability to easily add and remove services and to create the look and feel they needed, crucial in attracting and maintaining viewership.”
MediaHQ benefits from a powerful workflow engine and houses an advanced suite of modular capabilities that are flexible and easy to integrate. From ingest, media management and preparation to distribution and analytics, customers have access to everything they need under one roof, Switch Media said.
The Tonton AVOD service, which launched in November 2022, was initially available on the Web, as well as on mobile apps for Android and iOS for smartphones and tablets with display and in-stream ads. This service carries a collection of Media Prima’s market-leading free-to-air channels.
This March saw the launch of its SVOD service, home to a range of premium international content, as well as local content, providing a broad selection of content for viewers. Switch Media has also now rolled out these services to Android TV and Smart TVs.
“In order to improve our online video services, it was essential that we went back to the drawing board to see how we can rebuild the platform to fit today’s OTT landscape,” explained Gregory Eu, Tonton’s head of product. “Nowadays, with the widespread use of digital platforms, many people prefer to consume content online, and therefore, we required significant upgrades in our capabilities. Fortunately, Switch Media and its committed team promptly grasped the necessary steps we had to take and provided us with a technically sophisticated solution - Media HQ. Additionally, Switch Media have proved to be extremely adaptable in terms of structuring our partnership. It has been an invigorating experience working with them.”
“Beyond the market-proven technical capabilities of MediaHQ, and our in-depth market knowledge across the region, we are also able to deploy a mostly OPEX rather than a CAPEX intensive model and this was attractive to Tonton,” Gutierrez said. “As we all know, this is important as the trend away from CAPEX-intensive business models continues. There’s a range of ways that we can do this for customers as we work very closely with them throughout the process and can also support them on an ongoing basis, if desired. We take the polar opposite approach to the market than a one-size-fits-all angle. We offer very personalized customer service, supported by the modularity and flexibility of our solutions.”
