TORONTO – Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN), Canada’s largest South Asian broadcaster, announced in late September it has acquired the exclusive Canadian rights from Indian media company Disney Star to launch its four channels – which will launch in Canada under the names ATN Star Plus, ATN Star Gold, ATN Star Vijay and ATN Vijay Super.
“We tremendously value our relationship with all of our highly successful programming partners from around the world. We are now delighted to be associated with one of the largest and most reputable media conglomerates, Disney Star,” Shan Chandrasekar, president and CEO of ATN, said in a press release. “We expect to attract a much larger audience through Disney Star’s compelling content, which would enhance our subscription and advertising revenues.”
The Star Plus channel is India’s leading Hindi general entertainment TV channel, according to the press release, offering a diverse range of programming including family dramas, reality shows and special events. Some of the channel’s popular shows include Anupama, Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin, Imlie, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Yeh Hai Chahatein.
Star Gold is among India’s leading 24/7 Hindi movie channels, the release says. “With one of the largest and most varied libraries of Indian movies, the channel caters to entertainment for the entire family,” the release reads.
Star Vijay is a leading Tamil language general entertainment channel offering drama series, reality shows and Tamil films, according to the release. Popular reality shows on the channel include Bigg Boss, Super Singer, Neeya Naana, Cooku with Comali and Kalakka Povadhu Yaaru.
Vijay Super is a Tamil movie channel that features some of the biggest blockbuster Tamil movies. The channel also airs Tamil-dubbed versions of popular Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English movies.
“We are excited to further extend the reach of our compelling and multi-lingual portfolio to our audiences in Canada, through out collaboration with ATN,” said Sudhir Nagpal, head of international business at Disney Star, in the release. “Canada has a strong viewer base for our content, especially for our series and format shows aired on our class-leading channels across languages. We continuously seek opportunities to connect with our audience and this collaboration with ATN is another step in that direction.”
