Astro’s CK Lee passes the baton to Nicholas John as new Head of Sports
November 16, 2021 5:45 pmKUALA LUMPUR, 16 NOVEMBER 2021 – Astro welcomes Nicholas John (Nick) as its new Vice President and Head of Sports reporting to Director of Content, Agnes Rozario, following Lee Choong Khay’s (CK) announcement to undertake a new regional senior position. Nick joined Astro from ESPN Star Sports in 2010 as a Senior Sports Producer raising the bar for Astro’s sports production and successfully activated Astro’s premium football experience to be on par with the global best. With his strong relationships with local sporting bodies and production acumen, Nick was recently promoted to Head of Astro Arena, the first local sports channel in the region.
A firm believer in developing local talents – both on-screen and off, Nick is committed to growing and developing the sports community by working with athletes such as world champion bowler Syaidatul Afifah and 2-time SEA Games netball gold medalist Fariha Razak who join Astro Arena’s stable of ex-national athletes leading on-air coverage and content on Astro Arena.
Nick also initiated and spearheaded the launch of Astro Arena 2, targeted at increasing the relevance of Astro’s sports coverage to younger sports enthusiasts, and in addition to providing local coverage for international sports events. He has developed new content IPs such as the hugely popular Borak-Borak Botak, Berbulu Dengan Burn and Bola Itu Life which resulted in record-breaking TV and digital viewership of UEFA Euro 2020 on Arena.
His latest addition to Astro Arena 2 is Jangan Kanjiong headlined by former world No.1 shuttler and star, Tan Boon Heong, whose badminton commentary during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games made waves on social media which led to high viewership on TV and positive digital engagement amongst millennials.
Astro thanks CK for building Astro as Home of Sports
CK joined Astro in 1997 and under his leadership, Astro SuperSport and Astro Arena became synonymous with sports channel brands that deliver the best and most comprehensive global and local sports coverage, enhanced with immersive viewing experience in 4K High Dynamic Range with Dolby Atmos for UEFA EURO 2020 and Astro GO’s new Interactive Mode feature. Understanding the growing relevance of esports, CK developed and spearheaded the launch of eGG Network in 2016, the first regional dedicated esports channel that is now in 8 countries.
Henry Tan, Group CEO of Astro said, “We are extremely proud of CK and grateful for his achievements in raising the bar for sports and talent, and wish him all the best as he moves on to a regional role. CK has mentored and worked with Nick for over 10 years and Astro is confident that Nick will continue to put Astro at the forefront of sports content.”
2022 promises to be another epic year for sports and we look forward to delighting Malaysian sports fans and Astro customers with our comprehensive coverage.
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Media Contact:
Tammy Toh
Director, Group Marketing and Communications, Astro
+6012 322 5184
Ng Kar Yean
SAVP, Communications, Astro
+6012 317 3726
Categorised in: Industry News, Member News
This post was written by Astro