Asianet (TV channel)

Last updated

Asianet
Type Television Channel
Country India
Broadcast areaInternational
Network JioStar
Headquarters Kochi, Kerala, India
Programming
Language(s) Malayalam
Picture format 1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 576i for the SDTV feed)[ citation needed ]
Ownership
Owner JioStar
Key people
  • K.Madhavan
  • Krishnan Kutty
Sister channels JioStar channels
History
Launched30 August 1993;31 years ago (1993-08-30)
FounderRaji Menon
Links
Website Asianet on Disney+ Hotstar
Availability
Streaming media
Disney+ Hotstar Asianet

Asianet is an Indian Malayalam language general entertainment pay television channel operated by JioStar, a subsidiary of Disney India. It primarily telecasts programs such as serials, reality shows and Malayalam films. Asianet HD is the first High Definition (HD) television channel in Malayalam. [1]

Contents

History

Founding

The channel was founded by Raji Menon in 1993. [2] [3] In late 2006, Menon partially pulled out of Asianet Communications, turning over control to Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Jupiter Entertainment Ventures). [2] Star India bought a 51% stake in Asianet Communications and formed a joint venture with JEV in November 2008. [4] In 2014, Star India took full ownership of Asianet Communications. [5]

Star India Acquisitions (2008–2014)

Asianet was restructured into four companies in June 2008 (general entertainment, news, radio, and media infrastructure). This move was to allow separate investments in each company. [5] Star India started talks with the owners of the Asianet channels in August 2008. [4]

Star India eventually bought a 51% stake in Asianet Communications and formed a joint venture with JEV in November 2008. [6] The joint venture, called "Star Jupiter", comprised all general entertainment channels of Asianet 8 October 2013 Bombay 12 March Communications (Asianet, Asianet Plus, Asianet Movies, Asianet Suvarna and Asianet Sitara [7] ) and Vijay TV. Star India had reportedly paid $235 million in cash for the 51% stake and assumed a net debt of approximately $20 million. [5] It is not clear how much stake Raji Menon held in the new Star Jupiter venture. Before forming the JV, it was known that the founder (Raji Menon) had held about 26% stake. [4] Star India increased its stake in Asianet Communications to 75% in July 2010 (for which Star India paid around $90 million in cash), and to 87%, by acquiring 12% stake for $160 million in June, 2013. The latter move was by acquiring a 19% equity stake in Vijay TV from Chandrasekhar and Asianet Communications MD Madhavan. [5] Following the June 2013 investment, Asianet Communications was valued at $1.33 billion. Star India acquired a 100% stake in Asianet Communications (buying the remaining 13% stake) in March 2014. [5] [6]

The Walt Disney Company 21st Century Fox Acquisitions (2019–Present)

On 20 March 2019, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company, its Indian subsidiary Star India, Star India-owned Asianet Communications and Star India's remaining subsidiaries became a subsidiary of Disney India. [8] [9]

Programs

Sister channels

Asianet Plus

Asianet Plus Logo.jpg

Asianet Plus is the second Malayalam language general entertainment pay television channel is operated by JioStar, a subsidiary of Disney India. It broadcasts serials, re-broadcasts of Asianet's old serials, and various movies. Indian Super League (ISL) is being broadcasting on Asianet Plus from 2018. [10] It was earlier known for its Dubbed Hindi Serials (eg:Mounam Sammadham) and Youth oriented programs.

Asianet Movies

Asianet Movies.png

Asianet Movies is an Indian Malayalam language pay television movie channel that was launched on 15 July 2012. The channel is operated by JioStar, a subsidiary of Disney India. The channel usually broadcasts movies that were previously broadcast on Asianet and also some premieres. Its HD feed, Asianet Movies HD, launched on 15 March 2023. Asianet Movies HD was the first HD movie channel in Malayalam. [11] It Replaced Asianet Sitara, a Telugu General Entertainment channel.

Awards ceremonies

References

  1. ↑ "Asianet - leading Malayalam GEC Channel | TV Serials | Malayalam Entertainment". Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 Times of India, Mini Joseph Tejaswi (30 October 2006). "BPL's Rajiv Buys Asianet". The Times of India.
  3. ↑ Malayalam.oneindia, (mal.) (29 March 2001). "Awarded to Kochouseph and Dr. Raji Menon".
  4. 1 2 3 "Star buys majority in Asianet; forms JV with Rajeev Chandrasekhar". Reuters. 17 November 2008. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Star India acquires 100% Stake in Asianet Communications – MediaNama". medianama.com. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. 1 2 Kulkarni, Raghuvir Badrinath & Mahesh (17 July 2013). "Interesting tussle on to gain control of 'Kannada Prabha'". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ Reporter, B. S. (16 November 2008). "Star TV buys majority in Jupiter Entertainment". Business Standard. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Choudhary, Vidhi (15 December 2017). "Fox deal set to make Disney India's biggest broadcaster". mint. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Laghate, Gaurav (13 March 2019). "Walt Disney's merger with Star India to cost 350 jobs". The Economic Times. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "New serial Kalyani Kalavani on Asianet Plus". The Times of India. 16 March 2015. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "Pokkiri Raja on Asianet Movies". The Times of India. 27 November 2016. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "Asianet film awards: Big M's score again". The New Indian Express. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "Asianet Television Awards 2018, a starry affair!". The Times of India. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 28 December 2024.
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