Prior to its establishment,[9][10] both The New Straits Times Press and Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad were formerly a subsidiaries of Fleet Holdings, an investment arm of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and helmed by Junus Sudin.

[16] Subsequently, both of the companies were acquired by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), which primarily focused on construction and property development as its main core businesses.

The acquisition was completed on June 25, 1993 as part of the MRCB's foray into other business and considered the largest management buyout in Malaysian corporate history.

[10] In 1998, TV3 and MRCB agreed to build a studio facility and an auditorium in Shah Alam, Selangor, costing RM 7.2 million and planned to be completed on 31 October.

Media Prima began operations on 23 September 2003,[33][34] with the launching ceremony was officiated by the then-Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

[35][36][37] Upon of its official launch, the company began to offers a cross-media solutions to its clients through the capitalisation of its broadcasting and print publication assets.

[39][40][41][42] Not long after, Media Prima acquired 80% interest in Metropolitan TV Sdn Bhd which had a Content Application Service Provider (CASP) license which allowed it to open a television station.

[54] In 2007, Media Prima launches its over-the-top streaming service, Catch-Up TV,[55][56][57] which offers content from the company's television channels and their respective websites.

[81] The company is among of 20 strategic partners of the Universiti Utara Malaysia's Bachelor of Creative Industry Management (BCIM) program which was introduced on 20 August 2013.

The agreement will see Rev Asia being integrated into the company's platform to create the nation's largest digital media entity.

[96] Two months later, the company has entered a partnership with YouTube through its "Players for Publishers" service to strengthen its position in the digital media industry in Malaysia.

[97] By August 2018, Media Prima has reportedly sold the New Straits Times Press' Balai Berita site in Bangsar and the land where its printing factory is located in Shah Alam to PNB Development Sdn Bhd for RM280 million.

One of the premises the group is considering moving to is at Saujana Resort, Seksyen U2, Shah Alam, which is owned by Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd.

[100][101] Media Prima signs an MoU with Dailymotion on 22 October 2018 to expand digital reach and improving contents for Malaysian audiences.

[102] The company alongside Astro and DiGi Telecommunications collaborated to launch a digital learning hub, known as JomStudi in January 2019.

The initiative, which supported by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), provides quality educational resources in a single platform which accessible to students.

[103][104][105] On 9 April 2019, Media Prima partnered with Grabyo to enhance its social video strategy and increase its dominance in the Malaysian digital content market.

[112][113][114] Media Prima collaborated with Celcom Axiata and South Korean telecom company, LG Uplus Corp in October 2021 to exploring the potential 5G content and services cutting across VR and AR for Malaysian market.

[120][121] The company was named as a strategic media partner for the Malaysia-China Macro Entrepreneur Health Forum and the Asian Celebrity Charity Gala Night 2023 (MCEH 2023) which took place on 25 and 26 November 2023 at The Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

[124][125][126] In January 2025, Media Prima through its Television Networks subsidiary launched a new version of Azan the Islamic call to prayer, which was enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI).

Malaysian political party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), previously holds 11.09% of its interest in the company before divested its shares to Syed Mokhtar.

[133][134] Apart from Aurora Mulia and JAG Capital Holdings, Media Prima's ownership also consisted of several other shareholders, including Morgan Stanley & Co. Int.

[136][138] Other companies that operate under the Media Prima group are print publishing subsidiary the New Straits Times Press–in which the company owns more than 98% of equity interests–which owns three major print and online news brands the New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro and their respective weekend editions as well as online newspaper archive KLiK (formerly NSTP e-Media and later News & Image Bank or NIB).

[141] The company's former assets including book and magazine publishing company, Berita Publishing (which was part of the NSTP until 2000 when it was sold to Alaf Positif),[142] education arm Malaysia Institute of Integrative Media (MIIM; formerly Akademi TV3; sold to SAL Group of Colleges in 2003),[143] English newspaper the Malay Mail (which was sold to Redberry Media Group in 2012),[144] pay-television service Mega TV and Ghanaian free-to-air TV network, TV3 Ghana, which all of these were operated long before Media Prima was established.

[147] On 8 November 2018, Media Prima's computer system was locked and hacked by cyber criminals who demanded millions of ringgit for ransom.

It is not immediately known whether the company's data has been breached, and whether the media group will suffer financial losses as a result of the ransomware attack.