Its programming consists of mostly dramas, sitcoms and reality shows made in Chinese, either produced in Malaysia or imported from other countries such as Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Singapore.
"[5] However, the plan was canceled the following month[7] because the government felt that the existing TV channels were adequate to meet the country's "present needs.
[14][15] Fauzi Abdul Rahman, the then-Parliamentary Secretary of the Information Ministry, said in May 1992 at the Parliament House that TV4 was likely to be set up by early 1993[16] and would be awarded a tender by June 1992,[17] but it was delayed until August before it began its broadcast.
[18][19] In June 1993, the license was granted to a consortium of four companies, which included The Utusan Group, planning to launch in 1994,[20][21][22] but later delayed to January 1995[23][24] and eventually to 18 February.
[25] In February 1995, MetroVision postponed its program transmission due to feeder cable damage during shipment from Japan[30][31] and rescheduled it for mid-March.
[35] MetroVision started broadcasting on 1 July 1995 at 6:30 pm,[36][37][38] with the official launch on 18 September 1995 at the Putra World Trade Centre.
[39] It was managed by City Television,[25] which eventually renamed as Metropolitan TV, a company owned by Tan Sri Tunku Abdullah, part of the Melewar Group Berhad and a member of the Negeri Sembilan royal family.
Other shareholders included the Utusan Group, Ch-9 Media (formerly Medanmas), and Diversified Systems, which was owned and controlled by Tan Sri Kamarul Ariffin.
[41] Its prime-time Malay news bulletin, Warta Prima, originally aired at 7:30 pm to avoid competition with other channels.
[41] MetroVision had problems with the scheduling of its programs; due to the introduction of the classification system, The Bold and the Beautiful, which used to air in the afternoon, had to be moved to late evenings.
[51] Later in June 1998, MetroVision received approval from the government to broadcast nationwide but did not prepare for the move, citing "reduced revenues from advertisements due to economic downturn" as a reason.
[55][56] Due to the Asian financial crisis and competition from other channels and pay-TV operators (such as Astro, Mega TV and NTV7), MetroVision shut down on 1 November 1999.
In March 2001, MetroVision – then tentatively named Channel 8[a] – was bought by Arab-Malaysian Corporation Berhad, which is owned and controlled by Tan Sri Azman Hashim.
[64] In 2003, the newly established Media Prima announced its intent to acquire MetroVision, believing it could "dominate the broadcasting industry".
[74][75] On 6 September 2007, 8TV along with its sister channels, TV3, NTV7 and TV9, became available for online viewing via Media Prima's newly launched streaming service, Catch-Up TV, which later rebranded as Tonton.
[87][88][89] On 4 May 2021, the channel began broadcasting 24 hours a day due to the launch of Eight FM, which simulcasts radio programming every midnight.
[93] At the beginning of the 2011 Ramadan season, 8TV aired three public service announcements that were criticized as racist and insulting to the Chinese.
The advertisements depicted a Chinese woman eating openly, wearing immodest and uncivilized clothes during Ramadan, with the intention of influencing non-Muslims to respect the fasting month accordingly.