Disney’s three linear channel brands exit Malaysia’s Astro at the end of this month after decades in a further sign of the dramatic shift in Southeast Asia’s entertainment environment.
The three channels are Disney and Disney Junior as well as Disney XD, which is being discontinued across Southeast Asia.
All were exclusive on Astro, which has told consumers that Disney was discontinuing Disney XD at midnight on 31 Dec, and that the other two channels would not be part of the Kids Pack refresh that launches on Tuesday (15 Dec).
Astro is filling the gap with WarnerMedia’s Boomerang and Viacom’s Nick Jr linear channels as well as 10,000 hours of on-demand episodes also available on mobile platform Astro Go.
Boomerang and Nick Junior join Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Baby TV, Astro Xiao Tai Yang, Chutti TV, Astro Tutor TV, Astro TVIQ and Astro Ceria on the platform.
Disney said the decision to pull Disney XD in Southeast Asia from 2021 was made “following a review of Disney’s business in the region”.
The decision to discontinue Disney and Disney Junior – as happened on Singapore’s StarHub in June this year – followed the failure to reach agreement on a value for the two channels.
Disney told ContentAsia an announcement on other destinations in Malaysia would be made shortly. No details were disclosed.
Fox channels on Astro – including three sports channels, three movie channels, three Nat Geo channels and Star Chinese Channel – are not impacted by the decision.
While Disney has not announced plans for Disney+ in Malaysia, logic says that the country – a major contributor to pay-TV programming fortunes for more than 25 years – will join the rest of Southeast Asia in the next 12 or 18 months... or sooner.
Disney+ launched hybrid platform Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia in Sept, rolled out Indian direct-to-consumer platform Hotstar in Singapore on 1 Nov, and will debut the full Disney+ platform in Singapore on 23 Feb. Korea and Hong Kong will follow in 2021.