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Era (stylized ERA on radio, formerly Era FM until 2017)[1] is a Malaysian Malay-language radio station operated by Astro Radio. The radio station broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The radio station went on air on 1 August 1998. In the past few years, this station played a wider mixture of music from the 1980s to current-day, but now it plays Malaysian and international hit songs, including Korean songs. Radio stations in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching will be moved back to Kuala Lumpur following Astro Radio closure of operations in Sabah and Sarawak since 30 September 2023.[2] In 2015, as according to Nielsen RAM Survey Wave #1, Era FM maintained its position as Malaysia's leading Malay-language station with over 4.8 million listeners.[3]
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| Broadcast area | Penang Island (Era Penang only) Johor Bahru and Johor Bahru District (Era Johor only) Singapore (Era Johor only) Batam City/Batam Island (Era Johor only) Brunei (Era Sarawak only) Thailand (Era Kedah only) |
|---|---|
| RDS | ERA |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Malay |
| Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
| Affiliations | Astro Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad |
| History | |
First air date | 1996 (Astro-only audio channel) 1998 (FM broadcasting) |
Former names | Era FM (01.08.1998 - 31.12.2017) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Syok TuneIn (Klang Valley and Kelantan) |
| Website | ERA |
The frequency slot, which is 103.3 FM in Klang Valley was originally known as Classic Rock and was one of the five radio stations first introduced by AMP Radio Networks along with Hitz FM, Mix FM, Light & Easy and TalkRadio (frequency taken over by My FM, which also began broadcasting on 1 August of that year). It launched on the Malaysian FM airwaves in January 1997 after being one of Astro's audio-only channels since the launch of the satellite network in October the year before. Over the one-year period, demand grew for radio content in Bahasa Malaysia, as listeners who were exposed to AMP's English brands wanted the same formats but in other major local languages. This compelled AMP to make changes to its line-up, swapping Classic Rock to Era FM, leaving Classic Rock as an Astro-only radio station.[4]
On 1 August 1998, Era FM went on air as the first private radio station to be broadcast completely in the Malay language, with "Hijau" by Zainal Abidin, which is a trademark for the radio station, being the first song to be played on the radio station, ending the monopoly of Malay-language radio stations run by state-run Radio RTM.
Era FM was once the leader in Malay-language FM radio stations, but has lost its popularity to its sister station, Sinar FM. In 2012, Era FM regained the top spot as the most popular radio station in Malaysia with close to 5 million listeners. Era FM is the first radio station in Malaysia to hold three records in the Malaysia Book Of Records since 1998.
On 2 January 2018, Era FM was rebranded to ERA in a move by Astro Radio to integrate multiple platforms beyond traditional radio.[1] At the same time, a new logo was also unveiled with the rebranding.
Era in East Malaysia
Prior to 2000, like its main sister stations, Era FM did not have any stations in Sabah and Sarawak.
In 2010, Era FM began opt-out programming for Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, with their own studio and on-the-ground team in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, respctively; as well as local announcers and DJs conversing in Malay and different East Malaysian languages.
Between 2017 and 2018, Sabah and Sarawak opt-outs were upgraded to full-fledged local outlets, with all content originating from their respective capital cities 24 hours a day, and ending reliance with its Kuala Lumpur flagship during off-peak hours. Era FM Sabah became fully-local on 24 April 2017;[5] Era Sarawak followed suit on 22 January 2018.
Astro Radio stopped operations in Sabah and Sarawak and moved to Bukit Jalil
Source:[6]
On 1 October 2023, Astro Radio has stopped its operations in Sabah and Sarawak. Despite this move, radio broadcasts for ERA Sarawak and ERA Sabah will continue as usual but operations will be moved back to Kuala Lumpur from 1 January 2024.
As a result, the English and Chinese radio channels, Hitz Sarawak, Hitz Sabah, My Sarawak and My Sabah will return their broadcasts to Kuala Lumpur.
On 8 January 2024, ERA Sarawak and ERA Sabah will start operating from the Asia Broadcasting Center, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
ERA Frequencies
| Frequencies | Area | Transmitter |
|---|---|---|
| 103.3 MHz | Klang Valley | Gunung Ulu Kali |
| Kota Bahru, Kelantan | Bukit Panau | |
| 103.6 MHz | Perlis and Alor Setar, Kedah | Mount Jerai |
| Penang | ||
| Seremban, Negeri Sembilan | Gunung Telapak Buruk | |
| 90.7 MHz | Langkawi, Kedah | Gunung Raya |
| 95.2 MHz | Taiping, Perak | Bukit Larut |
| 103.7 MHz | Ipoh, Perak | Gunung Kledang |
| 90.3 MHz | Malacca and Northern Johor | Mount Ledang |
| 104.5 MHz | Johor Bahru/Johor Bahru District and Singapore | Mount Pulai |
| Batam City/Batam Island, Riau Islands, Indonesia | ||
| 98.0 MHz | Kuantan, Pahang | Bukit Pelindung |
| 102.8 MHz | Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu | Bukit Jerung |
ERA Sarawak & ERA Sabah Frequencies
Internet radio
Broadcast online on SYOK website and APP
Television
| Platform TV | Channel |
|---|---|
| Astro/Astro NJOI | 856 |
On 1 January 2018, this channel had no Azan (except Subuh for Ramadan and Maghrib), but in January 2022, this channel brought back Azan for all obligatory prayer time due to the new tagline "Muzik Hit Terkini" replacing "Muzik Hit Terbaik".
Era was parodised as Erron in Afdlin Shauki's 2004 film, Buli.
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