Starts from 1st April 2020, Astro will reallocate new channel numbering system, the high definition (HD) channels will be moved to front, meanwhile standard definition (SD) channels will be the back of HD channel by adding +40. Example: Astro AEC HD CH306, SD CH346.
With this channel numbering system reallocation, and after DIVA CH702 and E! CH718 exited from Southeast Asia, Astro will further cease another three TV channels, first two are TVB Asian Action Channel CH327 and TVB Classic Movies CH328. They will be ceased on 5th April 2020, according to the some sources. Astro Jade Package will be discontinued, then TVB Jade will join Dynasty Package.
In addition, there is a long established Astro Cantonese in-house general entertainment channel to be ceased on 1st April 2020, it is Astro Wah Lai Toi.
Apparently Astro does not cease Wah Lai Toi, instead merge it with TVB Jade, but technically Astro Wah Lai Toi is going to be ceased broadcast.
Currently Astro Wah Lai Toi broadcasts on CH310 as HD feed, then CH311 as SD feed.
From 1st April 2020 onwards, TVB Jade will broadcast on CH310 by rebranding as "Astro Wah Lai Toi | TVB Jade". In my opinion, the discontinuation of Wah Lai Toi by Astro has several reasons, such as:
1. Low viewership
2. Cantonese viewers prefer watching their favorite Cantonese programs via OTT (over-the-top) platform.
3. For latest TVB drama, the consumers shift towards Astro AOD (On Demand).
4. High frequency repeating same content.
Besides that, apart from local produced TV programs, Astro Wah Lai Toi technically simulcasts TVB Jade content majority, while TVB Jade is launched on Astro since 2016 (but both are under different package), then TVB Jade viewership in Malaysia is still low. Therefore, merging both into 1 channel can make win-win situation.
Astro Wah Lai Toi SD channel CH311 will be replaced by Astro AOD. Astro AOD CH311 is HD feed, meanwhile SD feed will be on CH351.
As TVB Jade joins CH310 to replace Wah Lai Toi technically, regarding Astro Wah Lai Toi local produced programs, I doubt whether they will be continued or not, somehow Wah Lai Toi local Cantonese programs will be transfer to other channels, we don't know.
Wah Lai Toi has famous local produced Cantonese programs, such as flagship "Miss Astro Chinese International" (國際華裔小姐), and "Astro Star Quest" (新秀大賽), also now defunct dancing competition "Battleground" (舞極限).
In conjunction with farewell to long established Astro Wah Lai Toi, I would like to share the history and my moments of this channel.
Astro Wah Lai Toi is established on June 1996, now it has been 23 years in transmission. As Malaysia government did not allow foreign investor to operate TV station in Malaysia, so TVB and Astro are joint venture to establish Wah Lai Toi.
My first time to touch Astro was in 1999 (5 years old) at my late grandmother house, Astro Wah Lai Toi was my late grandmother favorite Astro channel ever. During that time, I did not understand and speak every single word of Cantonese, but I liked the channel actually, especially imported TVB dramas. When I came to my grandmother's home in Teluk Intan, I watched Wah Lai Toi together with her. Wah Lai Toi was very nice in the 1990s and 2000s, but the channel was getting boring since 2010s due to high frequency repeating content.
Back to 1990s and early 2000s, Astro Wah Lai Toi carried 90% of Hong Kong TVB content, meanwhile 10% was local content (Star Quest). Then, local content on Wah Lai Toi was increased since 2004 after the successful of Astro Ben Di Quan本地圈 on AEC.
Astro Ben Di Quan is local produced Chinese programs by Astro, first was on AEC, then expanded to Wah Lai Toi, Hua Hee Dai, and Xiao Tai Yang later.
Actually Astro Wah Lai Toi is just Malaysia version of TVB Jade because it simulcasts TVB Jade content majority.
Wah Lai Toi was used to air latest TVB drama from 1996-2007, then all the latest TVB dramas were transferred to Astro On Demand (Astro AOD). Consumers who want to watch latest TVB drama, they needed to pay extra to subscribe Astro AOD.
About Wah Lai Toi channel number, I remembered the first Wah Lai Toi numbering was located on CH2 in 1999, meanwhile Astro RIA (Malay channel) was on CH1, AEC (Mandarin channel) was on CH9. Until 2002, Wah Lai Toi was reallocated its channel number to CH30, then CH311 in 2007.
In 2010, Wah Lai Toi launched HD feed, known as Zhi Zun HD on CH310, later renamed to Wah Lai Toi HD in 2013/14.
Moreover, here are the logo history of Astro Wah Lai Toi.
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| 1996-2003 |
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| 2003-2008 |
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| 2008-2020 |
==Wah Lai Toi successor (from April 2020)==
* CH 310: TVB Jade
* CH 311: Astro AOD (HD) [SD on 351]
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