TORONTO – Asian Television Network International announced today it is adding five new channels to its lineup through a new agreement with Indian broadcaster Doordarshan.
ATN has signed licensing agreements with Doordarshan, a multi-billion broadcaster more popularly known as DD, under which it has been granted exclusive rights DD India, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Urdu and DD Sports.
ATN-DD India is an Indian satellite television channel geared towards Indian audiences living abroad, and offers an update on the social, cultural, and political aspects of India. ATN-DD News is India’s only 24 hours news channel, with 16 hours of live news bulletins daily in Hindi and English.
ATN-DD Bharati focuses on cultural programs, as well as programs on adventure, quiz contests, fine arts/paintings, crafts and designs, cartoons, talent hunts. ATN-DD Urdu is a general interest Urdu channel focusing on heritage, culture, literature, information, education and societal issues specific to the Urdu speaking audience.
ATN-DD Sports is India’s only free-to-air sports channel and provides coverage to various international and domestic sports including cricket, football, hockey, tennis, archery, athletics, kabaddi, swimming, badminton, wrestling, kho-kho and other indigenous games.
“We are delighted to be associated with the launch of India’s official national broadcaster Doordarshan which is similar to the BBC in the UK and CBC in Canada,” said ATN president and CEO Dr. Shan Chandrasekar in a release. “We have aggressive plans to add substantial value to our diaspora and enhance our strong customer base on cable, satellite and credible distributors across Canada.”
ATN says Doordarshan broadcasts to 48 million TV households in India and dominates that nation’s A, B and C category cable and satellite market.
