Viu partners up with Media Prima to bring Viu originals to consumers

Three Viu Malaysian Originals ‘Salon’, ‘Jibril’ and ‘The Bridge’ set to air from September onwards

Viu, the leading regional OTT video service and Media Prima Television Networks have announced a partnership whereby, Media Prima will broadcast as a first run, three Viu Originals ‘Salon’, ’Jibril’ and ‘The Bridge’ for the Malaysian market in 2018.

This is the first time a regional OTT brand has partnered with Malaysia’s largest TV broadcaster on content for same day airing. The three shows are slated to be released from September 2018 onwards on Media Prima’s NTV7 and on Viu.

“This is a completely different take within the entertainment industry where there is a common misconception that OTTs are here to challenge the TV industry. To the contrary, we see real synergies between linear TV and digital audiences in Malaysia. This is possible today with an extremely digitally connected population that also includes heavy consumers of free-to-air TV. We truly appreciate the collaboration with Media Prima, Malaysia’s leading broadcaster, who will benefit from Viu bringing international formats and premium Malay dramas to their audiences this year.” said Kingsley Warner, GM for Malaysia, Vuclip.

“The concept of partnering with Viu surfaced when we saw our viewers demanding authentic, specific-to-Malaysia content, while maintaining topnotch quality. We believe this partnership could develop more notable dramas similar to TV3’s Nur. Apart from that, we envision having highly targeted digital reach through Viu’s platform and providing a large population of Malaysians great quality content through this partnership,” said Johan Ishak, Chief Executive Officer, Television Networks, Media Prima Berhad.

“Apart from attracting new audiences, this is a great step in rewarding our loyal audiences who have always been with us all this while”, he added.

Synopsis of the New Series

The Bridge – Premiering November 2018

Viu is working with longtime partner, Double Vision, to produce a localised, ten-episode adaptation of global phenomenon, The Bridge, starring Bront Palarae, Rebecca Lim, Cheryl Samad and Tony Eusoff. The Bridge will be directed by TJ Lee. A body is found on the border of two countries, Malaysia and Singapore, forcing an investigator from each country to work together to solve the case. This is a licensed format from international distribution house, Endemol Shine Group. The Bridge (Bron/Broen) was originally created and written by Hans Rosenfeldt as a joint production of Sweden’s Filmlance International, part of Endemol Shine Group and Denmark’s Nimbus Film.
Salon – Premiering September 2018

Salon will be produced by Monsoon Pictures, directed by Kabir Bhatia and will star Julia Farhana, Idris Khan and Iman Corinne. The story is that Anna opens a new Salon that quickly becomes the talk of KL-town. Anna has a dark past and a mission to find the killer responsible for murdering her family many years ago and feels compelled to serve with her own brand of justice racking up a body count along the way.
Jibril – Premiering October 2018

Jibril is produced by Konda Kondi Studios starring Aeril Zafrel, Lisa Surihani, Zahiril Adzim and Sangeeta Krishnasamy, and will be directed by Megat Sharizal. This is the story of a lawyer who possesses exceptional intelligence, striking good-looks and an uncanny power of deduction. A sequence of events leads to several murders and assassinations. Jibril is called upon to defend one of suspects and thus begins the revelations of a secret terror organization and the search for its elusive leader.