Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (June 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The topic of this article may not meet Misplaced Pages's notability guidelines for companies and organizations. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. Find sources: "Asia Television Network" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Asia Television Network" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Some of this article's listed sources may not be reliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed. (September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Asian Television Network (ATN) was the first independent television channel in India. ATN broadcast by satellite and was owned by businessman Siddharta Srivastava.

History

Although Siddharta Srivastava's experience with cable networks dates from 1982, ATN was founded in November 1991 using the Russian Gorizont Statsionar-41 satellite to broadcast its signals. Alliances with film producers enabled the channel to build its back catalog of over 2,000 Bollywood feature films and 10,000 film songs, as well as hundreds of films in other regional languages. Broadcasts started in August 1992, weeks ahead of Subhash Chandra Bose's Zee TV. The launch and development of the channel were hampered by problems from cable operators, who had to install a second satellite dish to receive its programming, which aired only a few hours at night. The launch of Zee TV saw its potential to be wasted, but it had quickly gained a foothold of eight million viewers, over two channels on the Russian satellite, by January 1994.

In 1993, ATN started housing the Tamil-language satellite network Sun TV after receiving a rejection from Zee TV for an afternoon slot.

In early 1994, ATN was structured thusly:

• ATN One: news items provided by Reuters, entertainment provided by the American ABC network and the Thames production company
• ATN Gold: Hindi-language movies and general entertainment

ATN also planned to air Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam services over two further channels.

ATN's existence was very unstable, and in 1995, its channels were taken off the air, resuming its broadcasts in mid-1996. This time, the channel had moved to PanAmSat's PAS-4 satellite, enabling a wider audience reach of 77% of India's population, compared to Zee TV's 85% and Star TV's 82%. The migration from Gorizont to PAS-4 was rooted in non-payment dues to the Russian company, estimated to have been of nearly US$1 million as of April 1996. At the time of resumption (July 1996), Srivastava promised a new version of the channel.

Still in 1995, ATN received a warning from Mumbai cable movie tycoon Dharubai Shah, under the grounds that it infringed cable rights, as ATN promised 21 movies free-to-air. The scandal erupted when Shah was also involved in a conflict with the newly launched Zee Cinema.

Original programming during the second half of the 1990s included Superhit Hungama, Maine Dekha, Gune Dekha, Movie Magic, Starana, Tarana, Chill-Out Zone, Right On, Andaz Apna Apna, Once More, Sitaron Ke Sang, Mere Geet, Geet Mala, Gunjan, and a half-hour Hindi news bulletin. ATN also planned to diversify its businesses, by entering the audio cassette and film production business; the latter had involvement from two leading US studios.

The oldest private television channel in Bangladesh, ATN Bangla, got its start as a music slot aimed at Bengalis on the ATN Music channel. The closure of ATN and its music channel eased the creation of ATN Bangla; while the ATN initials were an homage to the Indian network.

References

1. ^ "Kalanithi Maran, Sun TV: the evolution". Indian Television. 24 April 2018. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
2. ^ "Press and Advertisers Year Book". Google Books. 1998. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
3. Gupta, V. S.; Dyal, Rajeshwar (1997). Media and Market Forces: Challenges and Opportunities. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7022-698-7. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
4. ^ Thomas, Amos Owen (2005). Imagi-Nations and Borderless Television: Media, Culture and Politics Across Asia. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-7619-3395-3. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
5. "SATELLITE CHOICES". The Straits Times. 18 August 1993. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
6. "ATN disappears from TV screen". India Today. April 29, 1996. Archived from the original on 2024-02-09. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
7. "ETC". India Today. July 31, 1996. Archived from the original on 2024-02-09. Retrieved 9 February 2024.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
8. "B'CASTERS REACH FOR THE STAR". Variety. 24 April 1995. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
9. "India pix rights battle reaches Hong Kong". Variety. 24 April 1995. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
10. আমার গলায় সেট হয় রোমান্টিক গানগুলো. NTV (in Bengali). 17 September 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

• Defunct television channels in India
• Television channels and stations established in 1992
• Television channels and stations disestablished in 1996