Media Prima Television Networks (“MPTN”) announced today that its popular over-the-top (“OTT”) service, tonton, will offer Malaysians its video streaming services at no cost, in-line with Media Prima’s Group-wide business transformation strategy to increase revenue through programmatic advertising, one of the fastest-growing digital revenue segments.

This follows Media Prima’s announcement to consolidate all online video content using YouTube’s Player for Publishers service. In lieu of this, tonton’s annual subscription video-on-demand (“VOD”) model will cease beginning 31 August 2018. All users subscribed to tonton VIP (tonton’s paid subscription package) in 2018 will be refunded on a pro-rated basis within 90 days.

This will enable tonton to reach a wider audience and reduce costs by embedding the YouTube and Daily Motion video players on its web and mobile platforms while giving users an enhanced viewing experience across all devices. It will also allow tonton to generate sustainable revenue through programmatic advertising which is seen by many industry analysts as the most effective tool for advertisers to capitalise on the right audiences for their campaigns.

Johan Ishak, Chief Executive Officer of MPTN, said: “After a careful study, we decided that the democratisation of tonton’s content across multiple platforms is the best strategy to unlock our full potential. It’s a win-win situation for all – it will allow Media Prima to reach a wider audience while users, many of whom are already familiar with Youtube and Daily Motion, will get the opportunity to binge watch their favourite shows.”

Johan added that under the partnership with YouTube, MPTN will achieve better monetisation through advertising. The move will also allow advertisers to capitalise on the popularity of tonton’s content to target the right audiences while ensuring brand safety throughout the campaign.

Introduced in 2010, tonton is Malaysia’s first VOD streaming service offering the best in Asian and international dramas, variety shows, films, telemovies, entertainment programmes, live events and live television. The platform’s popularity grew to over 8.4 million registered users with a growth rate of 20,000 users weekly.

“tonton will remain a key component of MPTN’s digital transformation strategies as demand for digital content increases every month. The platform will continue to offer original content, live shows, and other top quality entertainment exclusivity for our viewers. tonton will also continue to organise ground activation events, such as the upcoming ‘A movie date with Henry Golding’ on 29 August as part of our commitment to engage with tonton fans,” concluded Johan. 

tonton xtra and Primeworks Studios will host ‘A Movie Date with Henry Golding’ on 29 August to celebrate the British-Malaysian actor’s recent debut in Hollywood with the film Crazy Rich Asians. The actor first launched his entertainment career as a host on Media Prima’s 8TV channel.

Don’t forget to check out tonton today!