Kuala Lumpur – Astro Best has signed a multi-year agreement with Sony Pictures Television (SPT) to bring Sony Pictures’ feature films to over 15 million Astro viewers. Launched in August 2012, Astro Best brings in the latest Hollywood and Asian titles in their earliest window after theatrical screening to the comfort of Malaysian homes on Astro Best.
Under this agreement, Astro customers can look forward to more fresh blockbuster titles from Sony Pictures to be added onto Astro Best like the highly anticipated The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that is soon to be released this year. Action-movie seekers will be happy to know that Elysium, The Equalizer and 2 Guns will join the list too. Families will get to enjoy movies such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Smurfs 2, and One Direction: This Is Us.
The agreement includes other hits like Captain Phillips, as well as the thrilling Insidious: Chapter 2. These titles are available at their convenience on all platforms ranging from linear DTH (Direct-To-Home) satellite, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) and Over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Astro On-The-Go.
Agnes Rozario, Vice President of Content Management Group at Astro, said: “We are pleased to celebrate a significant milestone in our agreement with Sony Pictures to bring our viewers access to many of the studios’ latest Hollywood titles on Astro Best. This spells a variety of offerings for our customers with better value, and more viewing choices. Sony Pictures joins renowned studios such as Walt Disney Pictures, Lionsgate Film and Sundance, to name a few, partnering with Astro to provide a variety of Hollywood and Asian movies at either day-and-date or at an earlier window compared to the usual Pay TV window.”
“On average, our customers spend 4-5 hours daily on the Astro platforms. With the take up of Astro Best doubling from previous year, we are confident that the Sony Pictures movie titles will be well received. Spurred on by encouraging number of demands and Malaysians’ love for movies, Astro Best has doubled its capacity and number of movies offered in 2013 with monthly average of 6-8 movies per month. Which is why, we are confident that more international and regional studios will join Astro in delivering an extended viewing period beyond the cinema time frame, to more than 15 million viewers,” Rozario added.
Angel Orengo, EVP, Distribution, Asia-Pacific for SPT, said: “Sony Pictures is home to one of the world’s largest content libraries, featuring a wide variety of popular, beloved and critically-acclaimed feature film titles. We are delighted to work with Astro to bring an incredible collection of quality movies to their customers across Malaysia for years to come.”
Astro Best movies are available for purchase via SMS. Priced at RM10 per movie on a Pay-Per-View basis, movies are available for 48-hours upon purchase with up to 12 different viewing times for each movie per day. Astro Best is also available on Astro-On-The-Go and AstroB.yond Video-on-Demand (VOD), allowing access for families and individuals to enjoy these movies at their own convenience anytime, anywhere.
