Astro aims to achieve 500,000 connected PVR

Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (AMHB) is targeting to achieve 500,000 connected personal video recorder (PVR) by end-2015, supported by the launch of Astro’s new On Demand.

According to AMHB chief executive officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan, the latest offer is in line with consumer trends who prefer to enjoy Astro's content on the go.

Through the On Demand (OD) service, Astro viewers now have the opportunity to choose their favorite shows and watch their favorite them either through television or through mobile devices.

Viewers can watch a wide selection of entertainment content from the greatest action movies of Hollywood, the best Asian entertainment and comedy series.

"There are big changes in content consumption trends. Our next focus is to meet the needs of individuals in households, which we call 'the individual space', 'smart device areas' and also 'home space and mobile.

"These are the consumer groups that we expect to increase from 800,000 registered individual users today to more than 3 million in the next five years," she said at the launch of On Demand, on Thursday.

Astro subscribers can get On Demand service by connecting the PVR decoder to the internet.

The service is also available through Astro On The Go (AOTG) application on smartphones, laptops or tablets.

Astro subscribers who connect the PVR to the Internet before 31 January 2016 will also enjoy free access for a period of three months plus OD content.

Astro is also aiming to increase the number of AOTG downloads to 2.5 million by the end of this year.

The number of active users viewing is targeted to be increased to more than 180 minutes per week by the end of 2015.