MUMBAI: A tattoo represents much more than just a body art; it seals a person?s vow towards a communal principle. ?Marked? on infotainment broadcaster History TV18 explores the inexplicable world of tattoos belonging to modern day gothic tribes, to motorcycle clubs, urban gangs, and hardcore prisoners.

The series will air every Tuesday from 12 February, at 9 pm. It looks at various secret societies and its members to understand the significance of these mysterious signs for them individually and as an affiliate of the gang. Viewers will be up for a fascinating journey as Marked provides a tour of some of the most places in the world for an inside look at modern-day secret societies. Discover the series of excruciating ritual of inking, that every gang member goes through for earning the ultimate symbols of acceptance.

The ?Marked? team interacts with underground organisations and hardcore prisoners. Explore inside of prisons to depict the meaning of illegal marks secretly created behind bars to engrave cryptic messages. It also goes inside biker clubs of underground organisations to examine how ink separates the riders from the pack. The warriors of the US military use ink to symbolise their secret lives, lived on the edge. But the most fascinating encounter of the ?Marked? team was with Japan?s Yakuza.

The 600-year-old criminal group is the only group in the world to be closely identified with tattoos. Members of this 8000-member group share stories of their criminal pasts, and the pain they experienced in getting most of their bodies tattooed the old fashioned way; by getting poked over and over again with needles fastened to the ends of sticks.

The six part series bring out the ecstasy and the intimidating facts and beliefs behind Tattoos. The tattoo artists and cultural experts render their expertise to narrate the mysteries and implications of being marked in an audacious organisation.

Mumbai: History TV18 is all set to launch a 10-part series, ?American Pickers?.

The series follows the adventures of Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, through small towns and back roads for a glimpse at this little-known side of the antiques business.

The show is launching on 7 January and will air every Monday at 9 pm.

In the show, Wolfe and Fritz are on a mission to recycle America. Their job is to dig through junk piles, abandoned barns and neglected garages for hidden memorabilia. Sometimes they make a buck; and sometimes they walk away with little more than the history of an item. They love their work, and the open road is their office.

Wolfe and Fritz, business partners of Antique Archaeology based in Iowa, are professional ?pickers,? trolling America?s small towns to salvage rare collectibles and junk from regular folks. ?Although buying and selling is their livelihood, the thrill is in the chase. Each treasure hunt leads them to fascinating, quirky characters ? everyday people with stories about their artifacts and themselves thatopen a window into American life.?

According to the channel, traveling along with the duo, viewers will meet an assortment of American originals and watch as a patchwork of history unfolds ? one treasure at a time.

MUMBAI: History TV18 will be airing Space Dive, a special show based on Felix Baumgartner epic jump from space to Earth in October. The show will be on the channel on 30 December at 7 pm. The channel had also broadcasted the jump live as well on 9 October.

Space Dive follows Baumgartner?s travel to the edge of space in a stratospheric balloon. The documentary captures the daredevil?s most intense moments of doubt and fear, when he is alone at the edge of space. It catalogues his emotions of doubt, fear or fortitude before he decides to take his leap of faith, a journey down to the earth alive. The dive from the space put his body through the most arduous and life-threatening conditions ever experienced in a freefall.

On 9 October, the Austrian daredevil broke all barriers with the record jump from space, high above the stratosphere. He jumped from a staggering height of 39,045 meters above the earth?s surface and traversed towards the surface with a speed of 833.9

MUMBAI: After two seasons, reality show Pawn Stars will return on History TV18 with a brand new season, beginning 10 December.

Pawn Stars, which airs every Monday, brings viewers inside the doors of a family run pawnshop in Las Vegas, where three generations of men from the Harrison family - grandfather Richard, son Rick and grandson Corey - jointly run the business, with clashing and camaraderie every step of the way.

This family lives and breathes the pawning business, using their sharp-eyed skills to carefully assess the value of items their colorful customers bring in, objects ranging from the obscure to the truly historic.

This season their shelves are loaded with fascinating assortment of items like the first issue of the Playboy Magazine, a gold bar from an underwater treasure, solar therapy device and a 1715 Spanish fleet gold coin, to name a few.

MUMBAI: A+E Networks has said that it will assume full ownership of AETN All Asia Networks, the Singapore-based company formed as a joint venture with Astro Overseas Limited (AOL) in 2007.

The move comes as A+E networks looks to expand its footprint and launch new brands, including Lifetime.

A+E Networks? portfolio of channel brands, including History, Crime & Investigation Network and BIO, will continue to have carriage in Malaysia and Brunei through agreements with Astro Malaysia, an affiliate of AOL.

In India A+E Networks has JV with Network18 Group which operates History TV18 channel.

"Five years ago when we were exploring options to launch our brands in South East Asia, Astro was the clear choice to be our partner due to their local expertise and their strong record as a Pay-TV leader in the region," said A+E Networks EVP, Enterprises Steve Ronson. "Astro has been and will continue to be a very important partner for us, and we are very pleased to see our relationship evolve and grow."

A+E Networks and AOL will also establish a regional production partnership designed to nurture the production activity across South East Asia. The production partnership will help develop the local talent pool, and to create original content for regional and international audiences.

"As a leading media group in the region, we are happy to continue to our relationship with A+E Networks to develop and create compelling content and help elevate the creative industry in the region through the setting up of the regional production partnership," said AOL SVP Zainir Aminullah.

AETN All Asia Networks? management team will report to A+E Networks Asia Pacific MD Alan Hodges.

"We view Asia as critically important for our international growth, and assuming full ownership of AETN All Asia Networks is a big step," said A+E Networks Executive Vice President, International Sean Cohan. "This new structure will allow us to expand our brand portfolio and grow distribution throughout the region."

AETN All Asia Networks operates and distributes History, History HD, Crime & Investigation Network, and BIO in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Macau, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Palau and Thailand. The group also manages the broadcast of History and History HD in Korea.

The transaction is subject to various conditions and approvals. The parties hope to close the deal by early 2013.