Malaysian streamer Tonton taps Media Prima technology

Media Prima-owned Malaysian video streaming outfit Tonton has tapped online content delivery specialist Switch Media’s MediaHQ online content publishing platform to create a new OTT service. 

Media Prima owns and operates a wide range of media outlets including four national broadcast TV stations, of which the nation’s number one free to air channel TV3 is one.

The group also owns five national radio stations, three national newspapers, an out of home network and various digital content platforms.

Tonton originally launched in 2010 and has been through several iterations.

An AVOD service, which launched in November 2022, was initially available on the web, as well as on mobile apps for Android and iOS for smartphones and tablets with display and in-stream ads. This service carries a collection of Media Prima’s free-to-air channels. This March saw the launch of a complementary SVOD service, home to a range of premium international content, as well as local content. Switch Media has also now rolled out these services to Android TV and Smart TVs.

MediaHQ includes a workflow engine and houses a suite of modular capabilities spanning aspects from ingest, media management and preparation to distribution and analytics.

“We took an in-depth look at what Tonton had been doing and where they wanted their OTT business to get to – a vital component of what we do – and it was immediately clear that our modular MediaHQ platform would be ideal for them. It provides a level of flexibility and adaptability, via the ability to easily add and remove services and to create the look and feel they needed, crucial in attracting and maintaining viewership,” said Oscar Gutierrez, Switch Media’s VP of Business Development.

“Beyond the market-proven technical capabilities of MediaHQ, and our in-depth market knowledge across the region, we are also able to deploy a mostly OPEX rather than a CAPEX intensive model and this was attractive to Tonton. As we all know, this is important as the trend away from CAPEX-intensive business models continues. There’s a range of ways that we can do this for customers as we work very closely with them throughout the process and can also support them on an ongoing basis, if desired. We take the polar opposite approach to the market than a one-size-fits-all angle. We offer very personalised customer service, supported by the modularity and flexibility of our solutions.”

Gregory Eu, Tonton’s head of product, said, “In order to improve our online video services, it was essential that we went back to the drawing board to see how we can rebuild the platform to fit today’s OTT landscape. Nowadays, with the widespread use of digital platforms, many people prefer to consume content online, and therefore, we required significant upgrades in our capabilities. Fortunately, Switch Media and its committed team promptly grasped the necessary steps we had to take and provided us with a technically sophisticated solution – Media HQ. Additionally, Switch Media have proved to be extremely adaptable in terms of structuring our partnership. It has been an invigorating experience working with them.”