KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 3): Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd is set to provide its most comprehensive coverage of the upcoming football Premier League event which begins on Sept 12 as it continues to find new ways to engage customers and sports fans virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Astro is the official and exclusive Premier League broadcaster in Malaysia, and will be bringing all 380 matches live on television and Astro Go.

Euan Smith, Astro’s group chief operating officer and chief executive officer for television operations, said the past few months have been tough for a lot of people, especially for the world of sports, but noted that live sports is making a comeback.

“We see headroom for growth in sports, and are pushing hard on new ways to drive value and revenue in the digital space,” he said at a media briefing to announce the return of the Premier League on Astro.

Smith said customers can get the best viewing experience with Astro’s Ultra Box to watch selected Premier League matches live in 4K UHD, which offers four times more clarity than HD.

“We are taking football viewing to the next level with our Ultra Box and broadband offering live matches in unparalleled 4K UHD. With the Astro Go companion apps, customers don’t have to miss a sporting moment, and are able to stream exclusive Premier League programmes on demand wherever and whenever they wish.

“Bundling Ultra Box with Astro Broadband will enable interactivity and the ability to stream content on demand. It’s a ‘New Astro’ experience which includes cloud recording, a fresh new user interface that works seamlessly across devices, improved content recommendations based on your sports viewing history, and enables you to play from start any live match and ability to record multiple live sports events at the same time,” said Smith.

CK Lee, head of sports at Astro, said the pandemic has forced the company to advance its production and content creation to include more digital initiatives.

“During the Movement Control Order, we managed to get interviews with football players like Anderson and even Gary Neville. We now have access to the players where we can engage them with Malaysian football fans. We’ve never had this kind of opportunity before,” he said.

Lee said Astro is working on producing more supporting content relating to the Premier League as well as other sports content to increase its offering.

“All sports are back, so it’s an exciting period for us. We hope the new football season will bring excitement to Malaysian viewers,” he said.