Irdeto announced its partnership with Astro, the largest pay-TV company in Malaysia, to launch the all-new Astro Sooka streaming platform. This collaboration marks a transformative step for Astro, leveraging Irdeto Experience for a complete overhaul of the Sooka platform, spanning backend, front-end and end-to-end Quality of Experience.
Irdeto’s technology suite enables Astro Sooka to offer an immersive and seamless user experience to its expanding subscriber base, driving improved performance and better engagement with the product. Key enhancements include a redesigned UI/UX, intuitive navigation, faster response times, powerful search and discovery, personalized content recommendations and addressable advertising capabilities, all secured by world-class anti-piracy measures.
This next-generation platform provides Sooka with future-proof scalability, enhanced capabilities, and greater operational resilience for a seamless top-tier streaming experience, all while driving down operational costs. At the core of this upgrade is Irdeto’s commitment to delivering a modern, secure architecture that integrates advanced content protection, adaptable scalability and optimized user experiences to meet the demands of today’s streaming landscape.
Euan Smith, Group CEO of Astro, said: “The refreshed Sooka platform represents a significant milestone for Astro as we continue to innovate and deliver outstanding entertainment experiences. The new Sooka platform is already receiving very positive independent validation, confirming the exceptional quality of experience that surpasses established industry standards, as evidenced by a positive shift in app store ratings and customer feedback. With Irdeto’s proven expertise and advanced technology, we are confident that our partnership will drive long-term growth and strengthen our position to make Sooka the number one streaming app in Malaysia.”
As the prime systems integrator, Irdeto took the lead in orchestrating a seamless and future-ready solution by collaborating with long-term partners and leading technology providers such as TO THE NEW (TTN), to deliver a consistent user experience across various devices, Broadpeak, a video streaming infrastructure provider, and Bitmovin, the Emmy® award-winning, leading video streaming player provider.
Its comprehensive approach ensures the successful integration of cutting-edge technologies from Irdeto and its Technology Partner Ecosystem across the platform, delivering a unified and scalable solution. This transformation positions Astro to not only retain and grow its subscriber base but also streamline operations, reduce costs and solidify its leadership in the market.
Doug Lowther, CEO of Irdeto, added: “We are thrilled to partner with Astro on the Sooka platform refresh, showcasing the power of the Irdeto Experience solution suite. It’s an honor to have Astro’s strong vote of confidence in our technology, as well as in our team’s capabilities to deliver excellence in complex and transformative projects. We’re grateful to join with Astro to build upon their continued success in the Malaysian market.”
Why Astro chose Irdeto
Astro selected Irdeto based on its reputation for delivering on extensive, complex projects and 50+ years of expertise in the pay-TV and digital media industry. Key factors in Astro’s decision included: Irdeto’s customer-centric approach that drives the company to go above and beyond to meet customer needs; Irdeto’s strong financial position, backed by its parent company, MultiChoice Group, that ensures reliability and long-term support; and Irdeto’s technology superiority with a proven track record that enables it to deliver seamless user experiences, strong platform security solutions and efficient platform management.
The partnership reaffirms Irdeto’s leadership in the global media and entertainment industry, showcasing its ability to meet the evolving needs of its clients with innovative, scalable, and secure solutions.
