Malaysia's leading broadcaster Astro is migrating its systems and infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Astro will modernize its systems and infrastructure for the playout and origination of its linear channels and Playout Disaster Recovery capabilities by migrating them to AWS. Once up and running on Amazon's cloud platform, the broadcaster will turn to Amagi's software for its playout deployment.
It is hoped that the migration will mitigate the risks of maintaining legacy systems as well as enhancing the business's agility and resilience.
Astro and Amagi launched the broadcast station playout origination on AWS in May 2024, and according to the companies is the first large-scale, cloud-based playout solution by a broadcaster in Malaysia.
Plans for the migration precede the upcoming launch of the AWS Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Region. Once the region is live, Astro hopes that this will improve its in-country network infrastructure resiliency and performance.
"The broadcast industry is rapidly changing, requiring broadcasters to stay competitive with increased agility, resiliency, cost efficiency, and unified workflows, which can be achieved with AWS cloud," said Pete Murray, country manager at AWS. "We're thrilled to see our long-term customer Astro continue its transformative journey to delight their customers, and with Amagi, we look forward to digitalizing and advancing the future of Malaysia's media and entertainment industry."
Astro has previously partnered with Synamedia and AWS for the adoption of cloud TV services in Malaysia through Synamedia's cloud TV platform which is hosted on AWS.
DCD has contacted Astro for information about its existing data center footprint.
AWS first announced plans for a Malaysia cloud region in March 2023. As part of its commitment to the region, it is planning to invest $6 billion in Malaysia by 2037.
Early 2023 saw several other broadcasters migrating to the cloud. In the UK, ITN, ITV, and Channel 4 all announced plans to move to the cloud. Across the pond, US-based Sinclair Broadcast Group selected AWS as its preferred cloud provider in a multi-year migration.
