With over 38+ years of experience, Media Prima has clear leadership in content covering drama, news, current affairs and entertainment in the Malay TV market. Prensario interviewed Nini Yusof, Deputy CEO, to talk about the moment of the networks, digital strategy and the next originals for the local and international markets.
‘While dramas are always our number one top-rated shows, there is a high growth of interest in historical and Islamic documentaries. Jejak Rasul, which is an Islamic documentary series has been one of the longest and most watched documentary titles we are currently producing to cater to the audience’s needs for Islamic content’, initiated Yusof.
Media Prima has always implemented digital and traditional methods in marketing all its contents. ‘It is one of our main channels in getting the content out to the public. One of the cases of success is a drama called Melur Untuk Firdaus, which was aired during the festive season. It managed to attain over 2 million viewership on linear channel TV3 and gain traction through massive user-generated content of the drama totaling over 2.9 billion views on TikTok’, she exemplified.
On the news side, Buletin Utama is Media Prima’s news and current affairs-driven platform and is still the #1 choice for breaking news. ‘Moreover, live entertainment events such as Anugerah Juara Lagu, Anugerah Drama Sangat, Terpaling Juara and I Can See Your Voice have constantly been among the most viewed entertainment shows in Malaysia. We have always been known for its hit and top-rated dramas. our three slots, branded as “Akasia”, “Lestary” and “Samarinda” are the choice for drama lovers in Malaysia. We aim to continue producing top hits, while creating high talkability for all our contents’, added Yusof.
The executive also confirmed that the company has have just launched a new reality entertainment show which is an expansion of its hit IP, Anugerah Juara Lagu. ‘The new show is called Terpaling Juara (The Ultimate Singing Champion), which has shown a remarkable performance recording a whopping 1.9 million views during its first episode of the live show. Seeing this rise in interest in entertainment shows, we will surely continue to surprise the Malay TV market by bringing the best to the table’.
Media Prima are always open to any new ventures or alliances if there is an opportunity in the future. ‘This year we collaborated with leading broadcaster SBS from South Korea to co-produce a local format of Master in The House Malaysia. Two episodes were produced in Seoul featuring K-Pop star BamBam of “GoT7” and Son Seung Deuk, BTS award-winning Performance Director of “HYBE”. Master in The House Malaysia managed to garner a total of over 10 million views during its airing’, she said.
‘At the moment, we are currently in the process of another international collaboration with the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) with the support of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) to co-produce a documentary. 6 countries will work together to create this documentary. Among those 6 countries are us representing Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia’, concluded Yusof.
