- Liga Super, Piala FA, Piala Malaysia and Perlawanan Sumbangsih matches (“Liga Malaysia”) will be broadcast live in HD on Astro TV, On Demand and Astro GO
KUALA LUMPUR: 1 February 2023 – Astro and Malaysian Football League (MFL) are delighted to announce that they have entered a strategic partnership to champion Malaysian football. The terms of this wide-ranging new deal will see Astro become the official broadcaster of MFL’s Liga Malaysia competitions comprising Perlawanan Sumbangsih (Piala Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah), Liga Super, Piala FA and Piala Malaysia for the next 3 seasons, from 2023 to 2025 commencing 24 February with Perlawanan Sumbangsih.
Euan Smith, Group CEO of Astro said, “We are thrilled to be the official broadcaster for Liga Malaysia, truly cementing our position as the home of sports. We have always recognised the importance of sports in nation building, and both Astro and MFL are committed to raising the bar for coverage of local football leagues from live games, behind the scenes training to updates on players and coaches and the latest football news benefitting sports fans across Malaysia. Stay tuned for updates on our coverage which will cover live, on-demand and new magazine content.”
Euan said, “Liga Malaysia will further strengthen our local sports offerings, which in addition to our coverage of international sports including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League & Europa League, La Liga, BWF, MotoGP, NBA, UFC, WWE, PGA Golf and majors, the ATP Tours and many more, make Astro the home of sports.”
Astro has always been championing local sports and athletes and launched Astro Arena in 2010, the first local sports channel in the region, which also featured many former athletes as on-air talent. Astro Arena HD is the destination for local sports news and updates whilst Astro Arena 2 HD provides a sample of all our extensive sports offering with Bahasa Malaysia programming and commentary. In partnership with national sports associations, Astro has successfully developed and popularised local sports IPs including SepakTakraw League (STL), Netball Super League (NSL) and sooka Super Series: Volleyball (SSSVB) that are igniting passion for these sports among local sports fans.
Nicholas John, Head of Sports of Astro said, “We will put our best talent forward and use our production resources to deliver comprehensive coverage of Liga Malaysia in HD all of which will be streamed live on Astro GO to drive engagement for a league that has gifted players, great teams and passionate followers. Our coverage will be enriched with exclusive programmes including match analysis by pundits, pre-match press conferences, live training sessions, player access interviews, behind-the-scenes shows match highlights and much more. Exciting on-ground activities will provide the opportunity for fans to experience their favourite sport on another level. Astro customers can also look forward to special rewards such as invitations to live games at the stadiums and opportunities to meet the players.”
Dato' Ab Ghani Hassan, President of MFL said, “MFL’s renewed partnership with Astro is a sign that Liga Malaysia is gaining more attraction and will further increase the profile of the league and the clubs that are competing.
“MFL has taken a big step when partnering with Astro, a well-known and respected broadcaster in promoting local football. On behalf of MFL, I am very grateful to Astro for taking this step with us as we believe that with 14 elite teams competing in Liga Super and the creation of Piala MFL (Liga Simpanan) for players under 23 years old through the restructuring of Liga Malaysia, local fans can look forward to more excitement,” he said.
According to CEO of MFL, Stuart Ramalingam, MFL is partnering with Astro again because it believes the local leading broadcaster is the ideal partner to collaborate in developing Liga Malaysia.
“MFL took a big step last year by announcing the restructuring of Liga Malaysia and we believe Astro is the ideal partner to broadcast more matches in the quality that fans have been looking for. Astro's involvement this time will certainly increase the attraction and awareness of the development of Liga Malaysia and thus increase the commercial value of each match to strengthen the country's football ecosystem to be enjoyed by many parties.”
For more information on Astro and its products, visit www.astro.com.my
