.svg){kind=logo} Logo since 5 March 2018 | |
| Country | Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Malaysia Singapore Brunei Thailand (South Thailand) Indonesia (Kalimantan andRiau) Philippines (SouthernPalawan andTawi-Tawi) |
| Headquarters | Balai Berita,Bangsar,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | |
| Picture format | 16:9HDTV (1080i) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched |
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| Former names | Slogans: "Saluran Ceria Anda" (1998-2008) "Your Feel Good Channel"(1998-2000, 2001-2008) "Your Amazing Feel Good Channel" (2000-2001) "Feel Good" (2008-2018) "Your Home of Feel Good" (2010-2012) "Feel It." (2018-2021) "Pembelajaran Melangkaui Bilik Darjah" (translation: Learning beyond the classroom) (2021-present) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | https://www.xtra.com.my/live-tv/ (Only in Malaysia) |
| Website | www (Merged into Tonton Xtra's site, formerly ntv7.com.my) |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| MYTV | Channel 107 (SD) |
Natseven TV Sdn Bhd, operating asNTV7 is a Malaysian free-to-air television channel owned byMedia Prima Berhad.[1][2] The third private commercial TV station in Malaysia,[3] the network focused on the urban area with various types of programmes, dramas and news. As of October 2021, NTV7 is now become the second most-watched television station in Malaysia with about 15% of its viewing share, together withTV9, despite the declining viewership of 2 free-to-air television channels.[4]
TheSarawak companyNasional Televisyen (NTV), fromKuching, was given the green light from the Malaysian government on 5 June 1996. Under the conditions, the station would broadcast nationwide, 18 hours a day in various languages, with a minimum quota of 60% for national content.[5] The station was owned byMohd Effendi Norwawi's company Kenyalang Jasa Sdn Bhd.[6][7][8] Encorp Group, another company that also owned by Effendi, holds 60% of equity interest in NTV.[9][10] It planned to launch on 31 August 1997,[11] but postponed to 25 December 1997.[12][13]
Prior to NTV7's launching,[14] the channel launches its official website in March 1998.[15]
The channel was launched on 7 April 1998 under the entity of Natseven TV Sdn Bhd by Effendi, broadcasting daily from 6 am to 1 am the next day.[16][17] Its launching ceremony was officiated by the then-fourth Prime Minister,Mahathir Mohamad on 22 May 1998.[18] At the time of its establishment, its headquarters was located at Hicom-Glenmarie Industrial Park inShah Alam,Selangor. It also had a studio inKuching,Sarawak.[19][20][21] Its first day started with the then-prime minister attending a prayer service forEid ul-Adha prayers at a mosque in the state ofKedah.[22] NTV7 at launch employed a staff of 250 people, with broadcast centres atShah Alam inSelangor and had a transmitting network of ten stations, reaching peninsular Malaysia and the cities of Kuching in Sarawak andKota Kinabalu inSabah. There were already plans outlined for the station to go national "within a year". The slogan "Feel Good with NTV7" had the aim of creating "a happy and more enlightened" Malaysia.[23] For years, the channel started and ended with the James Brown songI Feel Good, which became a part of NTV7's branding.
In 2001, NTV7 began using a variation of theCircle 7 logo used by the American broadcast networkABC for its severalowned-and-operated andaffiliated stations; the logo would stay in use until 2018.
On 19 January 2003, NTV7 aired a special tribute to the nation's longest serving Prime Minister,Mahathir Mohamad at 8pm.[24]
In 2004, NTV7 was restructured to make the motorsports events as its key revenue generator.[25]
In 2005, NTV7 planned to be listed on the main market ofBursa Malaysia, but it would said that it "depends on the nation's media industry's current situation".[26]
In May 2005, NTV7 in collaboration with telecommunications company,Celcom to air 24 hour news and current affairs on internet under the My News Network banner.[27][28] NTV7 announced that it would begin the operations of the first Studio in the City in Galeri Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur by the year-end.[29]
In October the same year,Media Prima Berhad announced its acquisition of NTV7 under a price ofRM90 million, effectively making the latter one of its subsidiaries. As a result, it operates from Sri Pentas, Petaling Jaya from that year onward along with three other private television channels in Malaysia:TV3,8TV andTV9.[30][31][32]
In its early history, the channel offered a wide variety of programming which targets the Malaysian urban demographic including drama, comedy, entertainment, game shows, children's programmes, anime, documentaries and movies. There were also news bulletins in English, Mandarin and Malay through the7 Edition,[33]Mandarin 7, andEdisi 7 brands, respectively.
In December 2005, NTV7 has completed the implementation of voluntary separation scheme (VSS) on its 338 staffs who receives the scheme.[34][35]
In 2006, NTV7 collaborated with Singapore media companyMediacorp to produce Chinese language programmes. It also said that it would produce local content as a preparation to exploring the export market in the future.[36][37] It also projected its financial performances and intended to be debt-free.[38][39][40]
The channel dominates 25% of television advertising market in March 2007.[41]
On 6 September 2007, NTV7 along with its sister channels,TV3,8TV andTV9 made available for online viewing via Media Prima's newly-launched streaming service, Catch-Up TV, which later rebranded as Tonton.[42][43][44] At the same time, NTV7 announced that it would spend RM40 million to strengthening its operation and gaining a stronger viewership by 2008.[45]
In 2009, NTV7 recorded highest viewership rating from 800,000 up to 1 million viewers, mostly its Chinese viewers, per day.[46] It also collaborated with the Branding Association of Malaysia to held the branding workshop called "Be Branded, Be Seen' to help the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) to strengthening their brands through media.[47]
In the third quarter of 2013, NTV7 recorded its viewership ratings through the two programmes aired –The Undercover andThe Game 2.[48]
On 1 April 2016, ateleshopping block bought by theKorean conglomerateCJ Group through subsidiaryCJ E&M Co Ltd called CJ WOW Shop (now Wow Shop) was broadcasting across Media Prima channels. Several Media Prima channels (especially NTV7 and TV9) were more affected by the changes. It attracted public criticism on social media as a large part of the daytime schedule was replaced by the block, in which these slots had been previously dedicated to reruns, religious programming and kids programming.[49][50]
On 1 November 2020, CJ Wow Shop was rebranded into Wow Shop after Media Prima bought the remaining 49% stake in the teleshopping network previously held by CJ Group.[51]
From 5 March 2018, Media Prima attempted a new brand positioning for NTV7. The channel tried to target "Modern Malaysia" as a contemporary station through its new content line-up, including new Turkish Telenovelas; as well as its new sloganFeel It.[52][53][54][55][56] The relaunch saw major changes as it became a dominated English-Malay language channel, with the channel name read as "n-t-v-tujuh" instead of "n-t-v-seven." Also, infomercial programming was reduced upon the channel's rebranding.
Upon the March 2018 rebranding, Chinese content on this channel was reduced to selected Chinese dramas from Hong Kong and China along with Mandarin news bulletins, with much of the remainder transferred to sister channel8TV (which also attempted to reposition as Media Prima's sole all-Chinese channel on the same day). Originally, Mandarin 7 was supposed to be cancelled in May 2018 to complete its plan of moving all Chinese content to a single dedicated channel. However, when the2018 General Election occurred, the bulletin became Malaysia's second-most watched after TV3'sBuletin Utama (the said spot was formerly held byBerita TV9). Due to the Chinese community's positive response, Media Prima decided to reshuffle NTV7's news programming in June instead of axing Chinese news. In this format, only one news bulletin per language was aired on the channel with a single Mandarin newshour, while retaining half-hour editions in Malay and English.
The rebrand caused confusion among viewers, particularly Chinese communities who tuned in to NTV7 after finding out that most of its former programmes were moved to 8TV. Overall Chinese viewership was believed to be surprisingly lower.[citation needed]
As a result, on 31 December 2018, the former CEO of Media Prima Television Networks, Johan Ishak, said that the Mandarin variant of CJ Wow Shop would be broadcast on the channel and replace the Malay variant.[57] The move was part of the company's restructuring NTV7 by axed English and Malay-language shows, dropped the channel nomenclature, moved some (including those from TV9) to the mainTV3. It also brought back the channel's perception as a Chinese channel; yet the channel's Mandarin, Malay and English news bulletins remained unchanged.
Reruns of axed NTV7 shows were then aired on TV9 after the former's retreat while slogan "Feel it" was removed.
On 7 June 2020, Mandarin 7 aired its final edition and was merged into 8TV Mandarin News the following day. 8TV Mandarin News was also extended to one hour due to high ratings during theMovement Control Order (MCO) andCOVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.[58][59]
On 1 November 2020, CEO (now former) of Media Prima Television Networks, Dato' Khairul Anwar Salleh announced that NTV7 would be targeted for ages 15–28 by focusing on magazines, information and current affairs programs to meet the public needs, while Korean dramas would stop airing and all Chinese programmes have finally been integrated to8TV. Korean variety showRunning Man remains on this channel along with homeshopping block Wow Shop.[60][61]
On 18 November 2020, DidikTV@ntv7, an educational programming block was introduced byMinistry of Education from 23 November 2020 until 16 January 2021. It formerly ran from 9 am to 12 pm every Monday to Friday.[62] It was later split into two timeslots (9 am – 12 pm and 3 pm – 5 pm) on 27 January 2021, resulting the educational programming to be aired daily.[63]
On 12 February 2021, as the Ministry of Education will have a one-year term with Media Prima,[64] it was announced that NTV7 will be rebranded through a takeover as a fully educational TV channel known as DidikTV KPM starting 17 February; the new channel will focus on educational content based onSPM curriculum and co-curriculum. It would also provide news focused on education, edutainment programs, and content produced by the students. The channel will have 17 hours of airtime and will run daily from 7 am to 12 am.[65][66]
On 16 February 2021, Media Prima confirmed that ntv7 will not be defunct and its ownership remains unchanged, while the current team will be focusing on DidikTV KPM.[67][68][69] Following the closure, many of longtime NTV7 viewers bid farewell to the channel on their respective social media accounts.[70][71][72]
Since the DidikTV KPM launch, the main newscasts Edisi 7 was ceased entirely in replacement withBuletin Didik while 7 Edition moved to digital platforms; though it was later discontinued in May due to DidikTV KPM slot. Homeshopping block Wow Shop was ceased from airing on the channel.Soal Drama and Running Man were transferred toTV9 since 21 February 2021. Some of the original programming such asTrio On Point,Topik@7 (now Topik),Breakfast@9PM,Kail X andJurnal Resipi will continue to air.
During the DidikTV@7 segment, the channel airs documentary, drama (weekends only), lifestyle, and cartoon programmes.[73] Only certain programmes broadcast inChinese language such as Let's Cycle (season 1) hosted by Rickman Chia and Baki Zainal.
From 15 to 30 September 2021, according to the viewership statistics fromMedia Prima Omnia, the viewership share for NTV7 has increased from 2% to 15%, making the channel become the second most-watched television station in Malaysia afterTV3 (which the viewership share for TV3 is about 17%), together withTV9, which has the same viewership share of 15%.[74][4]
Media Prima announced on 15 October 2024 that the news operations of all of its television networks, including NTV7 or DidikTV will began broadcast at the company's Balai Berita starting 21 October after more than two decades operated at Sri Pentas, Bandar Utama.[75][76][77]
| Television Networks | |
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| Media Prima Audio | |
| New Straits Times Press |
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| Media Prima Digital |
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| Production and Distribution |
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| Out of Home Advertising |
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