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.

We‘ve all heard of soaps that never seem to end. But try this one for sheer longevity. Guiding Light, the broadcast industry‘s longest-running daily programme, is all set to mark its 50th anniversary on television on 30 June.

Guiding Light creator Irma Philips

By this weekend, the show will have aired 13,941 episodes on CBS, and 16,401 episodes if radio shows are included. A new opening sequence was unveiled on the show on 24 June to celebrate the milestone.

Created by Irma Phillips, The Guiding Light debuted during the second world war on 25 Jan 1937 as a 15 minute series on radio. Guiding Light was, and continues to be, produced by Procter & Gamble Productions, the company who put the "soap" in the soap opera.

For six decades, Guiding Light has led its counterparts in daytime and prime-time drama in exploring a range of topical and timeless issues, says an official release. Beginning in 1962, the TV series tackled the first social issue-driven storyline: the early detection of Bert Bauer‘s uterine cancer via a pap smear. Since then, subjects covered included organ transplant, Down‘s syndrome, substance abuse and domestic violence, apart, of course, from love, romance, family and community.Guiding Light is the only daytime programme inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame. Recipient of 55 Daytime Emmy Awards, it is a weekday daily on CBS Television Network. The series‘ creators attribute the show‘s longevity to the fact that while the complexity of storytelling and production has evolved considerably over time, the simple, life-affirming issues and values the show began exploring 65 years ago still lie at the heart of the show and continue resonating with a new generation of viewers.

A still from Guiding Light

Currently, the always adventurous, Reva Shayne (played by three-time Emmy winner Kim Zimmer) and her soulmate, Josh Lewis (Robert Newman), are embarking on marriage for the third time; Dr. Rick Bauer (Michael O‘Leary), who suffers from a deteriorating heart condition, and former prince Richard Winslow (Bradley Cole), victim of a horrible car accident, fight for their lives; Beth Raines tries to rebuild her life by coming to terms with the past of her alternate personality, Lorelei Hills (both played by Beth Chamberlin); and the feisty Harley Cooper (Beth Ehlers) and the irksome Gus Aitoro (Ricky Paull Goldin) try to make a go of their new relationship despite the objections of everyone in town, including Harley‘s ex-husband, the wealthy Phillip Spaulding (Grant Aleksander).

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.