Indra Dhnush

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Indra Dhnush (Hindi for Rainbow), later AsiaVision, was a British cable television subscription channel aimed at the South Asian diaspora.

Contents

History

The channel launched in May 1986 on the cable networks of Windsor and Slough in Berkshire, where the Asian population at the time was estimated to be at 30%. [1] The channel later extended its coverage to Ealing's cable network; by 1991, Ealing Cabletel was the owner of the service. [2]

Like its sister channel HVC, Indra Dhnush purchased many movies as cheaply as possible, making copies via low-band U-matic tapes and distributing the films to other cable operators (along with a paper-based schedule) to play within their own local cable areas using a semi-automated system. Because the starting times were fixed, there were gaps in programming. [3] There was a prospective launch nationwide on satellite slated for 1992, which was never achieved. [4] Cabletel Ealing later sold the channel to two businessmen, parting ways from HVC. The channel upgraded from a "warehouse of tapes" to a proper channel, being renamed AsiaVision in the process. [3] Under the new name, the service was to be uplinked by satellite to 16,000 subscribing households. [5] The channel eventually shut down in 1994 due to accumulated debts, larger than the ones expected. [6]

Programming

Indra Dhnush primarily broadcast Hindi films and television programmes with some material in other Indian languages, namely in Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil and Bengali. Additionally, some Doordarshan serials aired on the channel, either showing one episode or omnibuses of an existing serial. [7]

Doordarshan serials known to have been carried by Indra Dhnush were:

By 1992, cooking shows had joined the schedule (Cooking with Korma), as well as music programmes. [8]

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References

  1. ↑ International Dictionary of Marketing and Communication. Springer US. December 6, 2012. ISBN   978-1-4684-1523-0 . Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  2. ↑ The Television Industry: A Historical Dictionary. Bloomsbury Academic. 1991. ISBN   978-0-313-25634-9 . Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  3. 1 2 From Tony Currie, Controller of Programmes at the Cable Authority (1987–1991)
  4. ↑ "Television" (PDF). May 1992. p. 510. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  5. ↑ Screen Digest. Screen Digest Limited. 1993. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  6. ↑ Screen Digest. Screen Digest Limited. 1994. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cable Guide, December 1991
  8. 1 2 3 4 Satellite Times, July 1992
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