Telekom Malaysia (TM) launched seven new premium channels for its HyppTV Internet Protocil Television (IPTV) service at The Curve in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, 9 October, 2010.

They are MUTV (Manchester United TV channel), Universal Channel, SyFy Universal, Warner TV, BabyFirst TV, Screen RED and a new HD channel, iConcerts HD, and they add to the 22 linear TV channels and 20 video-on-demand (VoD) channels on HyppTV.

HyppTV was launched in March 2010, together with TM's UniFi residential fibre broadband service.

These seven are part of TM’s ongoing plan to provide its customerse with additional foreign and domestic content to increase and diversify HyppTV's range of content.

HyppTV is available to all UniFi residential customers as part of the service’s triple-play offering comprising Phone, High Speed Internet and IPTV services – which include free and pay channels, as well as VoD and interactive content.

“We are delighted with the additional content we have secured because they are premium channels made available to Malaysian audiences for the first time ever. We know that more and more Malaysians are particular about their TV diet because the majority have embraced a digital lifestyle – and for these connected Malaysians, HyppTV is the new TV experience that allows them to enjoy entertainment and other content on their own terms,” said Jeremy Kung, TM executive vice-president for New Media.

“We plan to grow our linear channels and our library of VOD content to satisfy many genres and tastes – from Hollywood, Bollywood and Kollywood to Asian cinema and the Middle East, too. We’re aiming for the latest blockbusters, the most popular series, classics as well as niche content,” Jeremy added.

Pricing

To encourage subscribers to fully experience the HyppTV offerings, all channels and VOD content have been made available without charge since March this year. However, come 1 November 2010, TM will be charging for Premium channels and VOD content. The charges start from RM3 per channel per month, with VOD pricing starting from RM8 per title. These charges are applicable for all packages.    

For the complete list of premium channels and VOD content, please refer to the overleaf or visit http://www.tm.com.my.      

Since its inception in March 2010, the UniFi service has provided its subscribers with 29 HyppTV channels, as well as more than 30 exciting new VOD titles every month. With HyppTV, customers can be in control of their TV as they can watch the programmes according to their own schedule. HyppTV also provides a platform for interactive applications for customers to enjoy.

TM UniFi is currently being offered via three residential packages. The residential triple-play packages are VIP5 at RM149 a month, VIP10 at RM199 a month and VIP20 at RM249 a month. The HyppTV service is delivered via a dedicated 8Mbps bandwidth in addition to the subscribed UniFi package so, this will not impact a subscriber’s data experience.

In March 2010, TM signed agreements with 20 content partners to provide a diverse mix of programming and content for HyppTV, including Arkib Negara, Bernama TV, BBC Worldwide, Star Group, Channel NewsAsia, Deutsche Welle, Travel Channel International and El-Kahfi Sdn Bhd. 

Prior to the additional new channels, the current available channels on HyppTV are TV1, TV2, Bernama TV, TV3, NTV7, 8TV, TV9 and Hikmah. Fourteen international channels are available: BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies, Channel NewsAsia, DW-TV Asia +, Travel Channel International, Star Chinese Movies 2, Star Chinese Channel, Channel [V] Taiwan, Euronews, Australian Network, fashiontv HD and LUXE.TV (HD).

HyppTV VOD offerings are divided into the following categories: Latest Movies, Home Cinema, Kids Favourite, Hollywood Premiere Series, Past Season and VOD News - Fokus Hari Ini.In addition, there are interactive channels on Malaysian History, Malaysian Football, Flight Information, Waktu Solat, TED.com and interactive games.

TM’s UniFi service is currently available in 23 areas. The UniFi service rollout has currently exceeded 500,000 premises passed and is being progressively rolled out to cover 48 exchange areas by end 2010. TM is targeting 750,000 premises passed by the end of 2010 and 1.3mil premises passed by the end of 2012.

For a complete list of HyppTV offerings, please visit http://www.tm.com.my.