Malaysian satellite television provider Astro will cease to air Animax (CH 719), the channel dedicated to broadcasting anime. Animax will no longer be accessible on Astro’s satellite TV broadcasting services beginning on 12 am, January 1st, 2021.

Twitter user @shafiq_izwan posted a tweet that tagged the official Astro Twitter account, asking why the channel will be ended. Two of the photos accompanying the tweet contained a notice which was aired on the channel, broadcasting Tokyo Revengers at the time. The notice reads:

Animax channel will cease on 1 January 2022. Enjoy selected shows from this channel available On Demand and Astro GO.

@shafiq_izwan’s tweet, when translated to English, reads:

@astroonline why is Astro ending Animax on 1 Jan 2022? Soon, Astro will no longer have a channel for anime.

Astro responded to the question via Twitlonger. In English, it reads:

Hi @syafiq_izwan. Astro is constantly analysing the programs that we’re broadcasting to offer the best choices and various content that’s engaging to our customers. In light of this, Animax (Ch 719 HD) will no longer be available on Astro beginning on 12 AM, January 1st 2022. Fans of this channel can stream episodes of selected shows available On Demand for a period of time. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

^syeera

Since its launch on Astro back on January 1st, 2004, the channel has been the entry point to anime for many anime fans in the country. While there were other channels on Malaysian television like AXN or TV3 which did air selected anime series, Animax was THE go-to channel for watching anime in the country. With Animax ending on Astro, it seems that Malaysian anime fans will have to turn to subscription services like Netflix to watch most of their anime legally.

Source: Gamer Santai