Budiey
VIU AND MEDIA PRIMA TELEVISION NETWORKS PARTNER
TO BRING MALAYSIAN VIU ORIGINALS TO CONSUMERS
Viu Malaysian Originals ‘Salon’, ‘Jibril’ and ‘The Bridge’ Set to Air From September onwards
MALAYSIA, 19 JULY 2018 – Today, Viu, the leading regional OTT video service and Media Prima Television Networks (MPTN) announced a partnership whereby, Media Prima will broadcast as a first run, three Viu Originals ‘Salon’, ’Jibril’ and ‘The Bridge’ for the Malaysian market in 2018. This is the first time a regional OTT brand has partnered with Malaysia’s largest TV broadcaster on content for same day airing. The three shows are slated to be released from September 2018 onwards on Media Prima’s NTV7 and on Viu.
“This is a completely different take within the entertainment industry where there is a common misconception that OTTs are here to challenge the TV industry. To the contrary, we see real synergies between linear TV and digital audiences in Malaysia. This is possible today with an extremely digitally connected population that also includes heavy consumers of free-to-air TV. We truly appreciate the collaboration with Media Prima, Malaysia’s leading broadcaster, who will benefit from Viu bringing international formats and premium Malay dramas to their audiences this year.” said Kingsley Warner, GM for Malaysia, Vuclip.
“The concept of partnering with Viu surfaced when we saw our viewers demanding authentic, specific-to-Malaysia content, while maintaining topnotch quality. We believe this partnership could develop more notable dramas similar to TV3’s Nur. Apart from that, we envision having highly targeted digital reach through Viu’s platform and providing a large population of Malaysians great quality content through this partnership,” said Johan Ishak, Chief Executive Officer, Television Networks, Media Prima Berhad. “Apart from attracting new audiences, this is a great step in rewarding our loyal audiences who have always been with us all this while”, he added.
Synopsis of the New Series
The Bridge
Premiering November 2018
Viu is working with longtime partner, Double Vision, to produce a localised, ten-episode adaptation of global phenomenon, The Bridge, starring Bront Palarae, Rebecca Lim, Cheryl Samad and Tony Eusoff. The Bridge will be directed by TJ Lee. A body is found on the border of two countries, Malaysia and Singapore, forcing an investigator from each country to work together to solve the case. This is a licensed format from international distribution house, Endemol Shine Group. The Bridge (Bron/Broen) was originally created and written by Hans Rosenfeldt as a joint production of Sweden’s Filmlance International, part of Endemol Shine Group and Denmark’s Nimbus Film.
Salon
Premiering September 2018
Salon will be produced by Monsoon Pictures, directed by Kabir Bhatia and will star Julia Farhana, Idris Khan and Iman Corinne Adrienne. The story is that Anna opens a new Salon that quickly becomes the talk of KL-town. Anna has a dark past and a mission to find the killer responsible for murdering her family many years ago and feels compelled to serve with her own brand of justice racking up a body count along the way.
Jibril
Premiering October 2018
Jibril is produced by Konda Kondi Studios starring Aeril Zafril, Lisa Surihani, Zahiril Adzim and Sangeeta Krishnasamy, and will be directed by Megat Sharizal. This is the story of a lawyer who possesses exceptional intelligence, striking good-looks and an uncanny power of deduction. A sequence of events leads to several murders and assassinations. Jibril is called upon to defend one of suspects and thus begins the revelations of a secret terror organization and the search for its elusive leader.
The Bridge will be produced in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin, while Salon and Jibril will be in Bahasa Malaysia. All shows feature some of the best Malaysian talents and will air first on NTV7 and then on Viu immediately after. It has always been Viu’s aim to support rising local talents by providing them a platform that optimizes their creativity. This is the first time Viu Malaysia is producing its own originals and these three series will also be made available in all Viu territories globally. Viu has also produced over 900 episodes of original content in other regions including Kenapa Harus Bule and Sunshine from Indonesia, and It Happened in Hong Kong, Love, Lust and Confusion and Kaushiki from India.
To follow Viu Malaysia go to www.facebook.com/ViuMalaysia or look for @ViuMalaysia on Instagram.
About Vuclip
Vuclip is a leading global technology-driven media company delivering on demand entertainment to emerging markets including India, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. As a PCCW Media Company, Vuclip properties include Viu, Vuclip Videos, Viu Life and Vuclip Games. Vuclip’s market success in on demand entertainment is built on its leadership at the intersection of technology, consumer insights and media. Run by a world class team, Vuclip, Inc. and affiliate companies are headquartered in Silicon Valley in the US and have a presence in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Dubai and Jakarta.
About Viu
Viu is a leading OTT Video service by PCCW and Vuclip available in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Middle East countries of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar. Viu’s unique value proposition of fresh and localized regional and local premium TV shows, movies and originals entertains millions of consumers every day. Viu Originals bring to light compelling stories with world class production quality, also providing the opportunity for local talent to showcase their skills on a world stage. The service can be accessed via the Viu app available for free on the App Store and Google Play, on connected devices such as smartphones and tablets, as well as on the web at www.viu.com.
About Media Prima Berhad
Listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia, Media Prima Berhad (“Media Prima” or the “Group”) is Malaysia’s leading fully-integrated media company with a complete repertoire of media-related businesses in Television, Print, Radio, Out-of-Home Advertising, as well as Content and Digital Media.
In Television, the Group maintains its number one position for viewership through its four channels TV3, 8TV, ntv7 and TV9. It is also the pioneer behind tonton, Malaysia’s popular video streaming portal which is also available in Brunei and Singapore. The Group’s content creation arm, Primeworks Studios, is Malaysia’s largest content production company.
Media Prima is the owner of The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Malaysia’s largest publisher with three national newspapers – New Straits Times, BH (“Berita Harian”) and Harian Metro. In Radio, the Group is represented by four stations – Fly FM, Hot FM, one FM and Kool FM. Media Prima is also a market leader in Out-of-Home Advertising represented by Big Tree, The Right Channel, Kurnia Outdoor, Gotcha, UPD, and Big Tree Seni Jaya.
Since the launch of Media Prima’s transformation programme Odyssey in 2016, the Group ventured into more digital and consumer-based businesses which include its successful home shopping network CJ Wow Shop, and education portal FullAMark. Media Prima currently ranks third in Malaysia (behind Google and Facebook) in digital reach after the 2017 acquisition of Rev Asia Holdings, one of Southeast Asia’s leading digital media groups.
Its digital media subsidiary Media Prima Digital was founded to innovate digital solutions and creative strategies for the Group. Media Prima Labs, a unit under Media Prima Digital, aims to extend the Group’s unique intellectual properties into the expanse of technological innovation and games.
