On August 2019, Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced to implement analogue switch off (ASO) by turning off analogue terrestrial television within August till October 2019, then MYTV myFreeview is Malaysia digital terrestrial television provider.
MYTV actually was launched in 2015. It started digital terrestrial television DVB-T2 broadcast transmission since April 2015 from east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. With digital switchover policy, a TV frequency can handle more TV channels with MUX mode, compare to analog where 1 frequency only carries 1 channel.
After analogue TV is switched off, all current free-to-air television channels will be on MYTV myFreeview digitally, it is free, just only to buy DVB-T2 set-top-box or digital ready television unit to watch DTT.
Here are the current channels where broadcast on myFreeview: RTM (TV1 HD, TV2 HD, TVOkey HD, RTM News HD, RTM Sports HD), Media Prima (TV3 HD, NTV7, 8TV, TV9, CJ Wow Shop- Malay and CJ Wow Shop- Chinese), Bernama News Channel, TV Alhijrah and 6 RTM radio stations (Radio Klasik, Nasional FM, Asyik FM, Ai FM, Traxx FM and Minnal FM).
Actually many new TV players already got broadcast license where expected to be on MYTV after analogue switch off. Of course people will get very excited about MYTV myFreeview because they can get more free-to-air TV channels after analogue switch off, so everyone will discuss and act as "digital terrestrial TV" specialist on social media.
In every country, digital terrestrial television stations are local broadcasters, none of foreign TV stations broadcast on free-to-air TV platform due to license conditions. While people are very exciting about myFreeview, one of people always posts on few digital TV Facebook group to suggest MYTV to launch Indonesia television channels for free, means Indonesia TV channels broadcast in Malaysia as free-to-air platform.
"I think MYTV shall have discussion and cooperation with any Indonesia television broadcasters who are interesting to broadcast on MYTV for Malaysia. If Hankuk TV (a joint venture between Korean and Malaysian broadcast companies) has collaborated with MYTV, Indonesia TV supposely have to do so, as its language is almost same with Malay and it is easily to be understood, despite without any subtitles", this fella stated.
YES, YOU CAN, BUT YOU MUST PAY. NOTHING IS FREE IN THE WORLD!
Anyway this depends on Indonesia broadcasters decision whether they want to enter Malaysia TV market or not, but it is impossible to broadcast on free-to-air terrestrial platform. This is because:
1. Free-to-air television broadcast license in Malaysia is only applied to local company.
2. Foreign broadcasters are not allowed to apply free-to-air television broadcast license in Malaysia. In addition, in respect to the requirement of free-to-air television broadcast license, the license holder must air at least 65% of local content, although they air some imported content on TV.
3. In terms of market, Malaysia is not Indonesia TV stations coverage country (not to mention overspill signal where happens in Johor). Imagine if any foreign TV channels are launched in Malaysia via terrestrial as free-to-air, they need to pay more transmission fees, and how do they get advertising revenue in Malaysia, as their advertisers are different?
4. Copyright circumstances.
5. If foreign broadcasters want to operate in Malaysia via terrestrial, joint venture with local company may make sense, but I believe that the broadcaster will air at least 50% of local content due to license requirement.
6. When he compares Hankuk TV, which is expected to carry Korean content on MYTV, I believe Hankuk TV will be only available as pay TV on MYTV DTH satellite platform. If Hankuk TV airs on DTT, the station must have some local content, unless the joint venture company holds CASP license (Content Application Service Provider) which allows to broadcast more stations.
7. Country autonomy, politic and culture issues. If foreign channels are landed in Malaysia via free-to-air terrestrial platform without filtering advertisement, this can threaten a country's sovereignty by claiming foreign broadcasters without JV use local license and frequencies.
Example: I want CCTV-1, CCTV-9 and SET Metro Channel to be on MYTV, but it is not possible on free-to-air terrestrial due to license condition... Unless on pay TV.
Actually watching International channels are mostly on pay TV platform, regardless satellite, cable TV or IPTV platform.
Talk about that guy who always suggests MYTV to launch Indonesia television channels on DTT, from my view, he always expects those things from MYTV, but those are not complying free-to-air license regulations at all! Few questions that I should raise up here:
1. Why doesn't he watch Indonesia channels by paying Indonesia TV package subscription fees on Astro or Unifi TV?
2. Indonesia TV channels such as antv, RCTI, Trans7 launch its video-on-demand content for free via YouTube, why doesn't he subscribe them on YouTube? So he can watch his favorite Indonesian television content on YouTube, somehow free to select what he wants. Even I also watch some selected Taiwan TV content via YouTube.
3. Ninmedia is Indonesia free satellite TV platform, why doesn't he try to install that? (Maybe illegal?)
He may not feel enough when TV3 airs Indonesia dramas... Last year, while NTV7 went rebranding as Modern Malaysia TV channel where carries modern Malay content majority (but the rebranding went busted on December 2019), he always expected ntv7 will air Sinetron dramas here and there which are not complying to local broadcast license at all. In addition, Bernama also collaborated with Indonesia TV station to launch few Indonesia documentary program on Bernama News Channel (he may not be interesting at all).
Wanna watch Indonesia TV channel for free without installing Ninmedia? Just stay in Southern Johor or Western Johor to receive Indonesia TV from Batam and Bengkalis with high antenna.
Coincidentally MYTV launches Asiasat-9 DTH (direct-to-home) service to cover blind spot areas where they're not covered by DTT. If he wants Indonesia channels to be on MYTV, I may agree with him, but those channels shall be classified as "pay channels" where only air on DTH via satellite. We must pay if want to watch foreign channels.
Make sense if his favorite Indonesia channels are on MYTV satellite pay channels, but he needs to buy DVB-S2 + DVB-T2 combo decoder and MYTV satellite dish, those channels won't be accessed via DTT. Besides that, by launching Indonesian channels on MYTV pay satellite TV platform, I may believe this can compete with Astro.
I suggest those foreign channels to broadcast on MYTV DTH because MYTV and foreign channels can get the fund from subscribers, so they don't need to recall many advertisers like terrestrial TV, somehow those channels doesn't need to pay high costs of terrestrial transmission fees because they just pay for satellite transmission fees only to serve whole Malaysia.
