|
Asianet Communications Limited (ACL) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by STAR India. Formed in 1991 by Reji Menon and Sashi Kumar and headquartered in Trivandrum, India.〔http://www.asianet.co.in/view.php?pg=24〕 the company owns several television channels, including Asianet (1993), the first privately owned satellite channel broadcasting in Malayalam. Other television channels under Asianet Communications include Asianet Plus, Asianet Middle East, Asianet Sitara, Suvarna TV, Suvarna Plus and Asianet Movies. Asianet Communications was completely acquired by STAR India in the early 2010s. Asianet News (formerly Asianet Global) and Asianet Suvarna News 24×7 channels are not a part of the STAR India owned Asianet Communications Limited, but comes under the Asianet News Network (ANN) wing of the Jupiter Media. Asianet Communications Limited's television channels reach the homes of Indians in over 60 countries worldwide including the Indian sub-continent, China, South East Asia, Middle East, Europe, USA and the lower half of the former Soviet Union.〔http://contentsutra.com/article/419-m-a-star-buys-majority-in-asianet-forms-jv-with-rajeev-chandrasekhar/〕 ==History== Asianet Communications Limited was originally incorporated as a private limited company named "Asianet Communications Private Limited" in New Delhi on 5 March 1991. The company began operations in 1991 with the promotion of Asianet, the group's flagship Malayalam language television channel . At the time, satellite television broadcasting in India was at its nascent stage. Asianet Communications Limited undertook the cable distribution of the channel as its own wholly owned subsidiary, ensuring maximum coverage across Kerala. Asianet commenced operations by the end of 1992 and started transmission by August 1993, at a time when the only Malayalam language television channel available was the government-owned Doordarshan. The channel had hired a transponder on the Russian Ekran satellite, with an up-link from the USSR. Later, the company hired a transponder on the Rimsat satellite, and shifted the up-link to Subic Bay in the Philippines and then to Manila. Initially, the transmission time was only three hours per day which was gradually increased to 12 hours per day by the end of 1994 and later to round the clock broadcasting. In early 1995, the uplink was shifted to Singapore where it attained full operational status. With a change in the broadcasting policies of the Government of India, Asianet started an up-link from Chennai through VSNL. From 15 July 2002, Asianet had its own earth station at the Asianet Studio Complex in Puliyarakonam, Thiruvananthapuram. Over the course of more than two decades of operations, Asianet has developed its own in-house production facilities and now has full-fledged production studios in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. In 2003, the franchise started a second channel 'Asianet Global' targeting the huge expatriate Malayalee population in the Middle East region. The channel was relaunched as Asianet News signifying an increased focus on news and current affairs in accordance with viewers' demands. On 23 July 2005 Asianet launched its third channel Asianet Plus, a complete entertainment channel. Recently, the franchise has started rolling out channels in other south Indian languages like Kannada (Suvarna TV) and Telugu (Asianet Sitara). The registered office of the company was shifted to Chennai on 3 December 1997. Asianet Communications Limited's majority share was then acquired by Jupiter Media and Entertainment Venture. In 2008, STAR India became a majority shareholder in Asianet Communications Limited.〔〔http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/star-tv-buys-majority-in-jupiter-entertainment/340301/ 〕 In July 2012, Asianet, launched Asianet Movies, the first Malayalam satellite TV movie channel. Today, Asianet Communications Limited ( employs more than 4000 personnel and its channels have a viewership of over 40 million, making it one of the largest media conglomerates in south India. Asianet, Asianet Suvarna, Asianet Movies and Asianet Plus are available in over 60 countries worldwide including the Indian sub-continent, China, South East Asia, Middle East, Europe, USA and the lower half of the former Soviet Union.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Asianet Communications」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|