Astro is giving marketing support worth RM3 million to 200 F&B bizs under BIZone

We recently had a query: Can Malaysian businesses just play any music or show they want to on their premises? 

The short answer is a resounding “no.” The longer answer though, you can read here.

But you might be wondering—what about those mamaks or bars that play football matches? How can they (legally) air that content?

Well, one solution they could be using is Astro’s BIZone.  

In the zone with BIZone

Launched in 2024, Astro BIZone is a simplified pack for F&B outlets. It allows commercial establishments to air sports (and certain other content) on their screens. 

Image Credit: Astro BIZone

Specifically, BIZone provides a full suite of live sports coverage as well as entertainment content, including the biggest sporting events such as the Premier League, BWF Tournaments, Liga Malaysia, Sepak Takraw League, Formula 1, MotoGP, NBA, cricket, and tennis. There’s also 25 non-sports channels. 

Ensuring fairness, the pack also offers transparent pricing tailored to different business types and seating capacity.

A RM3 million rewards campaign 

A lot of businesses, especially SMEs, might find it difficult to invest in a solution like BIZone, despite Astro’s statistics showing that customers tend to stay in a store where content like sports is playing on the TV. 

Image Credit: Astro BIZone

BIZone’s newly announced initiative might sweeten the deal, though. To bolster the growth of SME F&B outlets, they have introduced a marketing support campaign with RM3 million’s worth of value. 

Through this, a total of 200 F&B outlets will be selected as winners to receive a share of the RM3 million’s worth of marketing support throughout the campaign period. 

The selection of winners will take place every month through a draw conducted by appointed Astro representatives. 

Eligible outlets stand a chance to gain the following marketing and media support: 

• Sports Watch Party: An all-expense-paid live sports screening experience hosted at the customer’s outlet, designed to draw crowds and turn any match night into a major event.
• Meet & Greet: Appearance by a top-tier celebrity or influencer, generating buzz, footfall, and memorable customer experiences.
• Food Review: Exclusive content creation by popular food reviewers or social media personality, spotlighting customer’s outlet and reaching thousands of foodies. 
• Astro Radio Ads: Customer’s outlet featured on any one of Astro’s leading radio stations targeting millions of listeners, thus building awareness across diverse audience segments. 
• TV Spots: Customer’s outlet showcased on Bulletin Awani or Borak SeeNi, tapping into Astro’s extensive national viewership for maximum reach.

This campaign is open to all F&B and commercial outlets that sign up for, renew, or upgrade their BIZone TV pack within the campaign period of April 7 to October 17.

Good for business 

Tan Sian Tuang, Head of Enterprise and Broadband Business, Astro said, “Through this campaign, we want to enable F&Bs to leverage the power of strategic marketing to achieve their business objectives.” 

The company wants to show how BIZone is a powerful business multiplier that delivers real value by driving footfall, increasing customer engagement, and enhancing brand value. 

Image Credit: Astro BIZone

Beyond the marketing support, though, BIZone does sound like a good solution that F&B businesses should consider. 

It might be an investment, but some businesses have been slapped with hefty fines for not following the proper channels when it comes to in-store entertainment. 

For one, it was reported that year that a nasi kandar chain had to pay Astro over RM200,000 for unauthorised broadcasts. 

Maybe this is one reason why BIZone has already demonstrated substantial growth since its launch last year, experiencing a 34% year-on-year increase in new customers, significantly outpacing the approximate 5% year-on-year base growth. 

Astro shared in a press release, “With a potential market size of 14,000 establishments, BIZone is steadily gaining traction. This growth in customer acquisition highlights its value as a business solution for F&B and commercial outlets across Malaysia.”

• Learn more about Astro BIZone here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.

Featured Image Credit: Astro BIZone