PETALING JAYA, Feb 16 — Nostalgia kicked in for many Malaysians who grew up in the 1990s watching some of their favourite shows on ntv7, which will cease transmission today after 22 years.

Starting tomorrow, the free-to-air channel will be rebranded as an educational television channel known as DidikTV KPM in a takeover by the Education Ministry (MOE) to increase access to quality education for students nationwide.

Producer and journalist Norman Goh was among many who took to Twitter to bid the channel farewell and its role in providing entertaining programmes to Malaysians.

"When ntv7 first started, it was known as the fourth TV channel after TV1, TV2 and TV3.

"Back then, my family couldn’t afford to have Astro or MegaTV, plus 8TV was only available in West Malaysia,” he wrote.

Long before streaming platforms offered viewers the convenience of accessing programmes from across the globe, ntv7 served as a window to the world for many in the nation.

On top of its impressive roster of US series such as Friends, Ally McBeal, Suddenly Susan, Spin City, Everybody Loves Raymond and the Late Show with David Letterman, the channel was known for its diverse programming that included variety shows, Singaporean productions, Hokkien drama series and TVB classics.

It brought joy to many 90s kids with iconic Japanese anime series such as Doraemon, Shin Chan and the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider and many other cartoons.

There was also a host of Latin American telenovelas including Yo soy Betty, la fea and Mis 3 Hermanas and the popular 2001 Taiwanese drama series Meteor Garden.

But perhaps most memorable was the station’s highly rated homegrown programmes such as Kopitiam, Spanar Jaya, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Malaysia), the paranormal investigation series Seekers and Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd, the Malaysian sitcom spin-off of the popular Singaporean series.

Ntv7 is Malaysia’s second-oldest private television channel that was launched on April 7, 1998 to cater to urban viewers and branded itself as "The Feel Good Channel”.

The station was launched under the company Natseven TV Sdn Bhd by businessman Tan Sri Mohd Effendi Norwawi but was later acquired by Media Prima Berhad in 2005 for RM90 million.

According to MOE, ntv7’s replacement DidikTV will have 17 hours of airtime and will run educational content based on SPM curriculum and co-curriculum from 7am to midnight daily.

MOE said the DidikTV KPM channel was a platform for empowering the culture of knowledge, nurturing good values and creating an informed society.

Whether remaining programmes previously broadcast on ntv7 will be aired on TV3 or TV9 remains to be seen.