Home of Feel Good Turns 11

It's only fitting that the nation's Feel Good station has Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine" as the new anthem for its on-air anniversary promos - the station intends to charge full steam ahead in maintaining its sunny disposition and rankings for the coming year.

Malaysia's third private free-to-air TV station and first digital terrestrial channel turns 11 this July. ntv7 has indeed come a long way since Your Feel Good Channel hit the Malaysian TV airwaves in 1998.

This year, amid the global economic slowdown, ntv7 steps into the beginning of a second decade with a clear positioning of being stylish, smart and engaging - through compelling, high rating and relevant content, effective community events alongside creative promotional exercises. The station's key target of reaching urban Malaysians is reflected in its Home of Feel Good tagline.

Its refreshing content of wholesome family, entertainment, current affairs and sports programmes has hit the right chord with urban viewers. The station's strategic differentiation and revitalized branding has been proven via AC Nielsen data that shows ntv7 growing stronger among the Chinese with 21 per cent audience share and the second most watched channel among Urban 30+ with 8.1 percent audience share. Today, Media Prima leads in the Chinese audience share with a strong contribution by ntv7.

As part of its 11^th anniversary celebrations, the station offers a treat to viewers with a line-up of blockbuster movies such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Twins Effect ll, God Of Gambling 3: The Early Stage and Initial D.

"Rejuvenated branding, smart partnerships and constant emphasis on high quality local content has been the key success factors for the station's good ratings," says ntv7 Chief Executive Officer, Pn Suridah Jalaluddin, who will retire from ntv7 end of August.

"The station's strong reach in its targeted market, in addition to the unique creative marketing solutions, also offer advertisers more mileage in these times of economic slowdown," she adds.

While the early success of ntv7 was often associated with the prime time American TV programmes, ntv7 has also gone on to win the hearts of the non-English speaking audience in the urban areas.

An example is the much celebrated Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the hit TV game show in 2000 which registered a rating high of 15 TVR and ran for three seasons.

The award-winning station continued to win over viewers with a series of popular programmes like reality series Who Will Win and Fear Factor Malaysia, hard-hitting current affairs shows Edisi Siasat and 7 Di Pihak Anda, and telenovelas Betty La Fea and Rosalinda.

It is also the network of choice among sports enthusiasts. ntv7 was chosen in 2009 to be the host broadcaster for the recent Formula One World Championships. Prior to this it was also the host station for Euro 2008, the IRB Rugby World Cup and FIFA World Cup, Confederations Cup, UEFA Champions League, English FA Cup, Le Tour de Langkawi and NBA Basketball.

The introduction of Chinese dramas at prime time under its HONG belt further set the direction for the station. With a local Mandarin drama belt in place, ntv7 continues to deliver in producing number one local Chinese dramas starting with The Beginning in 2007. The station now dominates the Chinese prime time hour from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m., averaging a 50 percent viewing share with local series The Iron Lady setting a record high 53 percent. Recently ended its run, the show remains the highest rating Chinese series with 17 TVR and 886,000 viewers.

Always one step ahead, ntv7 is the pioneer for Hakka content and aired the first local Chinese period drama Age of Glory, a massive hit that garnered 14 TVR and 700,000 viewers. Meanwhile sitcom Mr Siao's Mandarin Class was a hit with viewers with its multilingual and multi-racial content, a reflection of Malaysian urban viewers.

Its Urban belt encompassing Malay, English, children's programming (labeled kids@fgw), and news and current affairs content branded as Edisi further adds to the station's urban branding. It is still the first in airing selected prime time American TV programmes, such as 24, Bones, Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy. Prime time U.S. titles to make their national debut this July on ntv7 include Lie To Me and The Mentalist. Other popular local shows include sitcom Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd, drama series Hartamas and gameshow 1...2...Jus!

Shows that captivated viewers the past year include gameshow Deal or No Deal, which garnered one million viewers for both its Mandarin and English versions and the glamorous annual music awards Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM), which also regularly attracts an average of one million viewers.

ntv7's current affairs show Siasat Mandarin has also picked up the 2008 MPI-Petronas Award for Best TV Documentary while the station's Euro 2008 grandstand programme "The Arena" was the sole Malaysian nomination in the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union 2008 Award.

"Moving forward, ntv7 will continue to harness our best people, technology, content and best practices principles," says Airin Zainul, ntv7 General Manager.

"Leveraging on the benefits of knowledge, brand building expertise, resources and distinctive content available throughout its businesses will additionally keep our upward momentum going," she adds.