Media Prima's ntv7 Mandarin news ceases broadcast after 21 years

Media Prima's ntv7 Mandarin 7 has ceased broadcast after 21 years and merged with 8TV Mandarin News. Ntv's Mandarin 7 first broadcasted in 1999 and the team confirmed in a Facebook post that it will merge with 8TV’s Mandarin news channel, extending the air time from 35 minutes nightly to an hour.

New segments on business and current issues have been added to the additional air time. The business news segment on 8TV Mandarin News includes interview sessions with SME entrepreneurs and business figures among the Chinese community who are affected by the global crisis. Meanwhile, Media Prima confirmed that it has merged the Mandarin news under Media Prima Television Networks to strengthen 8TV's position and to ensure that the channel can continue to provide more comprehensive news reporting to serve the needs of the Mandarin-speaking community.

According to Media Prima, viewership for 8TV Mandarin News recently peaked at 1.2 million viewers. The news programme is also broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook, recording an average of 6.5 million views on YouTube and 37 million views on Facebook every month. A+M has reached out to Media Prima for comment on the number of employees impacted.

Michael Chan, CEO of Media Prima Omnia, said the additional air time and business content will make 8TV an even more effective channel for the business community to share their opinions, plans and solutions. 

"Focusing our news expertise on 8TV will give us the resources to provide more exclusive news reports, present current issues thoroughly and also enhance news reports digitally to stay relevant and be able to compete in the digital era. 8TV Mandarin News will also consistently run polls on social media for the audience to vote and share their opinions on issues," he added.

In 2018, the group unveiled a new brand positioning for ntv7, targeting "modern Malaysia" through its new content line-up. Former CEO of Media Prima Television Networks, Johan Ishak, said then that the brand repositioning will see ntv7 having new logo and images, along with "content that will reflect [and] to cater for the modern society".

It also introduced CoCo which stands for "from COntent to COmmerce" to maximise reach through TV and digital. CoCo uses content to turn it into commerce opportunities. It serves to bridge television and technology to enhance advertiser’s brands and at the same time effectively engage brands with the audience.