Asianet Middle East Channel Launched

Asianet Middle East

Asianet to Launch Dedicated Middle East Channel on March 25

Programming tailored to suit the lifestyle of Keralites in the Middle East.
Fresh new content and more opportunities for advertisers.

Dubai/Trivandrum, March 24, 2010: Asianet, the leading Indian television channel with a footprint across the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, USA, Europe and South Asia, today, announced the launch of a dedicated Middle East Channel to go on air with a soft launch at 11 am on March 25.

Currently, viewers of Asianet in the Middle East are offered the same programming schedules as that of the flagship channel in Kerala, which has been structured to suit the lifestyle of people residing in the south Indian state.

“There is a considerable difference in the lifestyle of Keralites in Kerala and the expatriate Keralite community living in the Middle East. As the leading and trusted television channel of thousands of Malayalis in the region, we believe that the difference in outlook and aspirations must reflect in our channel’s programming to fully connect with our loyal audience here,” said Mr K Madhavan, Managing Director of Asianet communications Ltd.

The new dedicated 24×7 channel will structure its mainline programming schedule to suit the prime time, as per the Middle East time zone. Thus, viewers in the Middle East can watch new blockbuster movies and all the weekend shows on Fridays instead of having to miss them on Sundays. The timing of other popular programmes will also be newly structured to suit the Middle East residents.

“The new channel also enables us to create special programmes for the Keralites in the Middle East region and provide our advertisers with more convenient time-slots for taking their message to the desired audience,” added Mr Madhavan. “To complement the Asianet Middle East 24×7 channel, we are also planning to establish a dedicated studio to drive our Middle East programming further.”

Asianet, established in 1993 in Kerala, launched its Middle East operations to be closer to the large population of expatriate Keralites in the region in 2000. In addition to setting up a dedicated office in Dubai Media City, Asianet also made strong inroads into radio with the popular Asianet 657 AM, which has extensive listenership across the Gulf region.

Asianet Middle East has a dedicated events team, which organises special stage shows across the Gulf region during festive occasion of importance to the Keralites. Events like Ponnonam, Dance Party and Vishukaineetam have been massive crowd-pullers that brought together Malayalis in joyous celebration with Asianet.

“We have always been committed to stay connected with our viewers,” said Mr Madhavan. “Asianet already has a powerful programming mix already that is focused on life in the Gulf. Programmes such as Gulf Round Up and City Lights give an overview of life in the Gulf. We were also the first to commence dedicated programming for events such as Dubai Shopping Festival, thus serving as a cultural bridge.”

With a an estimated 4.5 million in the Middle East region alone, Asianet is the leader in Malayalam television with two other Malayalam channels – Asianet News, dedicated to news, views and analysis; and Asianet Plus, an entertainment channel catering to the younger audience. The Asianet Middle East 24×7 channel will effectively replace the Asianet channel from Kerala in the entire Middle East w e f 25th March 11 am.

The official launch of Asianet Middle East 24×7 will be held at a gala function to be held in Dubai on April 7, 2010.