With just under three months to go before it officially turns 5, action-adventure channel AXN states it now has over 30 million subscriber households in Asia.
Recent launches on Malaysia‘s ASTRO and Pakistan‘s Leo Communications platforms, and significant subscription increases in key Asian markets, have contributed to the network‘s robust growth in Asia. Include China, where it is seen in 40 million households on day-part basis, and AXN Asia‘s regional distribution is over 70 million, a company release says.

"Cable television viewers and cable operators across Asia know that for the best in action-adventure programming, there is only one choice - AXN," said Todd Miller, AXN‘s managing director. "The buzz, which first came to Asia in the thick of the economic crisis in 1997, is now a resounding beat that‘s sounded across the region."

Prasar Bharati Corporation, the autonomous body modelled on the UK pubcaster BBC and overseeing the work of Doordarshan (DD) and the All India Radio (AIR), is facing a cash crunch and will move the government to release the funds allotted to it.

Admitting this fact, a senior Prasar Bharati Corporation official told indiantelevision.com, "There is a cash flow problem and we are taking up this issue with the government."

According to the Corporation official, who is also part of the governing body, Prasar Bharati has mooted a proposal that it will sign a memorandum of understanding with the government to get released the grant-in-aid to it in two tranches. "This will ease the financial problems which the Corporation has been facing for quite some time now

Though the official denied any knowledge of non-payment of dues for work which had been sourced from outside, Prasar Bharati insiders did reveal to indiantelevison.com that the funds crunch has resulted in arrears piling up.

BBC World has announced a wide range of shows to captivate viewers of different tastes and dislikes with a line up that includes special areas including the arts, travel and the environment.
For people bitten by wanderlust, the channel will debut Fast Track next month, a show that examines tourist and business destinations. For people facinated with the Far East, there is the Arab World Direct, a show that takes a look at the culture and stories that make headlines in the region.

Earth 2002 Season which kicks off in August in time for the World Summit for sustaineable development in South Africa will analyse the negotiations, the highlight being an Earth Summit Debate. Other programmes revolving around the environmental theme include ‘State of the Planet‘. Presented by David Attenborough, the three part series commences in mid August and examines the future of mankind. Film star Jackie Chan appears in Chasing the Tiger, while host Julian Pettifer looks at the condition of wild tigers and what the action star is doing to protect them. In the last week of August, Natures Numbers follows biologists in the Bolovian rainforest who try to find which species are in immediate danger of extinction.

On a different track, bookworms can savour eight programmes in Great Writers Season next month. Writers profiled include Frankenstein writer Mary Shelley in the episode A Monstrous Life, children‘s author Lewis Carroll in Curiouser and curiouser and mystery novelist Iris Murdoch in Starnge Love.

For those wanting a dose of harsh reality instead of Alice in Wonderland, the channel will air the documentary Breaking the Silence- Music in Afghanistan in August. It tells the tale of how Afghan music was devastated during 20 years of war. It sees how the first signs of revival of music started a few weeks after the Taliban government was given the boot.

In September, the channel targets the marketing and ad community with the programming block ‘Branded‘ which examines the consumer world. The three part show The Ad Factor follows the journey of creating an ad from pitching to roll out of the final product. Logo takes viewers on the journey of how brands influence society and culture.

In the lifestyle programming section, the channel will unveil ‘ The Bike‘s The Star‘ next month. It takes a look at classic motor bikes. Mary Anne Hobbs hosts Mary Anne‘s Bikes in August, which scrutinises all aspects of biker culture.

BBC World announces array of programmes for coming season.

Sony Entertainment Television India (SET India) and Discovery Communications India (DCI) today announced the formation of their joint venture company - SET Discovery Pvt Ltd.
And in a clear indication that Sony was on the lookout to add more channels to the "One Alliance" platform, the official release says SET "would continue to seek opportunities with other channels."

As a continuance of the close involvement of its parent company in SET India, the JV includes two representatives from Columbia TriStar International Television - Martha Eberts and Michael March (both are also directors in SET India). The other two members of the SET Discovery management team are Kunal Dasgupta (who will be leading the company) and DCI CEO Deepak Shourie.

Pakistan is negotiating a satellite deal with European and US operators to buy two satellites, one to occupy the 38 E orbital slot allotted to the country, and the other as a back up option in the same slot.

Reports in the national newspaper Dawn say Pakistan has sent a high-level delegation to Germany to negotiate with Hughes Global Services for the Anatolia 1 satellite. The satellite, which started life as Palapa C1, is a series 601 satellite, built by Boeing, which was resold to Hughes in January 1999. It was first launched on 31 January, 1996, using an Atlas 2AS booster and was slotted at 150 degrees East after launching from Kourou in French Guiana. Quoting Federal Minister for Science and Technology Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, the Dawn says Turkey, which currently has the satellite in its 50 E orbital slot, has expressed its inability to do frequency coordination for the satellite.

Meanwhile, the Daily Jang says that Pakistan‘s ministry of science and technology has invited internationally recognised consultants to assist in developing the country‘s PAKSAT satellite project to "enhance the country‘s communications as well as strategic capabilities." The newspaper says the orbital slot allocated to Pakistan by the International Telecommunication Union at 38 deg E would lapse in April 2003 unless the country has a satellite in place with transponders switched on and international approval is obtained for ownership of the slot.