Asianet (TV channel)
| Asianet | |
|---|---|
Logo.jpg) | |
| Launched | 30 August 1993 |
| Owned by | Asianet Communications (STAR India) |
| Picture format |
576i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
| Slogan | Ahead with change, Ahead of others. |
| Country | Indian sub-continent, China, South East Asia, Middle East, Europe, United States and the lower half of the former Soviet Union |
| Headquarters | Trivandrum, Kerala, India[1] |
| Sister channel(s) |
List
|
| Website |
Asianet on hotstar Asianet Suvarna on hotstar |
Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Sun Direct (India) |
Channel 201 (SD) Channel 854 (HD) |
| Airtel Digital TV (India) |
Channel 826 (SD) Channel 827 (HD) |
| Tata Sky (India) |
Channel 1810(SD) Channel 1809 (HD) |
| Reliance Digital TV (India) | Channel 761 (SD) |
| Videocon d2h (India) |
Channel 603 (SD) Channel 991 (HD) |
| Dish TV (India) |
Channel 1902 (SD) Channel 1901(HD) |
| OSN (Middle East and North Africa) | Channel 289 |
| Cable | |
| Asianet Digital TV (India) |
Channel 104 (SD) Channel 802 (HD) |
| Kerala Vision Digital TV (India) |
Channel 006 (SD) Channel 652 (HD) |
| StarHub TV (Singapore) | Channel 139 |
| Hathway (India) | Channel 197 |
| DEN Networks (India) | Channel 601 |
Asianet, or Star Asianet, is an Indian general channel broadcasting in Malayalam language. headquartered in Trivandrum, Kerala,[1] the channel is part of Asianet Communications Limited owned by STAR India.
History and Beginning of Star Asianet
At a time when the only Malayalam-language television channel available was owned by Star India Pvt Ltd. The channel had hired a transponder on the Russian Ekran satellite, with an uplink from Dubna in the erstwhile Soviet Union. Later, the company hired a transponder on the Rimsat satellite, and shifted the uplink to Pinugay and later to Subic Bay in the Philippines. Initially, the Malayalam transmission was only three hours per day with the rest of the time showing selective programs from Australian Broadcasting Corporation and CNBC. Later this was gradually increased to 12 hours per day by the end of 1994 and later to round the clock broadcasting. Asianet was the first private TV channel of India to do "live" news broadcasting from its Subic Bay uplink centre. In early 1995, the uplink was shifted to Singapore where it attained full operational status. With a change in the broadcasting policies of the Government of India, Asianet started an uplink from Chennai through VSNL. From 15 July 2002, Asianet had its own earth station at the Asianet Studio Complex in Puliyarakonam, Thiruvananthapuram. Over the course of more than two decades of operations, Asianet has developed its own in-house production facilities and now has full-fledged production studios in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.
The registered office of Asianet Communications Limited was at Chennai. The main promoters of the channel were Dr. Raji Menon and Sashi Kumar Menon. Asianet Communications Limited's majority share was later acquired by Jupiter Media and Entertainment Venture, owned by Anoop Sree Ayroor. In 2008, the STAR India became a majority shareholder in Asianet Communications Limited.[2][3] In 2013, STAR announced buying of remaining shares of Asianet Communications Limited to get 100% ownership. In July 2012, Asianet, launched Asianet Movies, the first Malayalam satellite TV channel for movies.[4][5] On 13 August 2015, Asianet launched Asianet HD, the first Malayalam satellite TV channel for full high definition visual quality along with 7.1 Dolby Digital sound.
Coverage and viewership
Asianet reaches the homes of Malayalees in over 60 countries worldwide including the Indian sub-continent, China, South East Asia, Middle East, Europe, United States and the lower half of the former Soviet Union.[2][6]
Besides its large viewership base among Malayalam-speaking people in Kerala and other regions of India, Asianet enjoys huge popularity among Malayalee expatriate populations outside India, especially in the Middle East. Further catering to the region's huge Malayalee population, Asianet operates a radio station, Asianet Radio 657 AM and 1269 AM, from the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The radio channel is also available in the neighbouring Arab countries of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
Brand identity and signature song
The channel name Asianet was a product of its founder K. Sasikumar. The unique blue and pink logo was designed by acclaimed Indian graphic designer Sujata Keshavan and is one of the most recognizable brand identities in the television broadcasting field in south India. The current logo is red and white. The popularity of the brand is credited to K. Sasikumar and the then Vice President Prem Menon.
The signature song of Asianet, "Shyama Sundara Kera Kedhara Bhoomi", is a much-appreciated song among Keralites. Created in 1994, and originally airing in the early years of the channel in the mid-90s, the song was written by renowned Malayalam poet P. Bhaskaran, composed by two-time Academy Award-winning Indian composer A. R. Rahman and sung by Sujatha and Kalyani Menon. The video for the song is a collage of the various tokens of ethnic, cultural and traditional heritage belonging to Malayalees, set against a backdrop of the beautiful natural sights and landscapes of Kerala.[7] Initially airing in the late 90s, the video quickly became a part of Malayalee culture. Later the symbol becomes recognizable by Malayalees and it is a long-standing emblem for Asianet.
Award Shows
Award shows from 2010, has grown quite in number especially sponsored by TV Channels. Asianet is the first TV Channel to use this opportunity in its fullness. Asianet itself conducts more than five awards shows a year from 2012, with re-runs. The current shows are 2 megastars based award shows, Asianet film awards, Asianet TV awards, comedy awards etc. Media Critics consider this trite exercise has made the meaning of awards lost. It has become more of a platform for a publicity stunt, skewed promotion for films, promotion platform for overlooked and overvalued film stars as well as for the channel.
Asianet Film Awards
The Asianet Film Awards were instituted by Asianet with the pristine idea to honour both artistic and technical excellence in the Malayalam film industry. Held and broadcast annually since 1998, the ceremony has gained in popularity over the years and is currently one of the most-watched award ceremonies in Kerala in television rating. It has become a tool for influencing mindset of Malayalees in general with an array of big-small time actors and actress'.
Asianet Television Awards
The Asianet Television Awards (ATA) is one of Asianet newer ventures. It is promotional platform of Asianet's TV shows. Since TV actors and actress' lack a strong society like Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, Asianet conducts functions to token their actors, directors, producers and production houses alternatively.
| Film | Wins | Nominations |
|---|---|---|
|
6 | 13 |
| 5 | 8 | |
|
5 | 6 |
|
5 | 6 |
|
5 | 7 |
|
5 | 13 |
|
4 | 6 |
|
4 | 7 |
- Main Awards
| Year | Best Serial | Best Actor | Best Actress | Best Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Swapnam | Suresh Krishna & Anoop Menon(Swapnam) & (Megham) | Praveena & Chippy Renjith (Swapnam) & (Sthree oru santhwanam) | K. K. Rajeev (Swapnam) |
| 2006 | Sthree 2 | Siddhique (Sthree 2) | Vinaya Prakash (Sthree 2) | K. K. Rajeev(Amma manassu) |
| 2008 | Ente Manasaputhri | Anand Kumar (Nomabarappoovu) |
Sreekala Sasidharan (Ente Manasaputhri) |
|
| 2011 | Harichandhanam | Arun Ghosh (Paarijatham) | Rasna (Paarijatham) | Sujit Sunder ( Autograph) |
| 2012 | Kumkumapoovu | Sajan Surya (Kumkumapoovu) | Asha Sarath (Kumkumapoovu) | Praveen Kadakkavoor (Kumkumapoovu) |
| 2013 | Sthreedhanam | Sajan Surya (Kumkumapoovu) | Shelly Kishore & Divya Vishwanath (Kumkumapoovu) & (Sthreedhanam) | Krishnamoorthi (Sthreedhanam) |
| 2014 | Parasparam | Vivek Gopan (Parasparam) | Rekha Ratheesh (Parasparam) | Harrison (Balaganapathy) |
| 2015 | Karuthamuthu | Kishor Satya (Karuthamuthu) | Gayathri Arun (Parasparam) | Praveen Kadakkavoor ( Karuthamuthu) |
| 2016 | Parasparam | Kishor Satya (Karuthamuthu) | Meghna Vincent (Chandanamazha) | Praveen Kadakkavoor (Karuthamuthu) |
| 2017 | Vanambadi | Sajan Surya (Bhaarya) | Chippy Renjith (Vanambadi) | Praveen Kadakkavoor (Karuthamuthu) |
| 2018 | Kasthooriman (TV series) | Sajan Surya (Bhaarya) | Gayathri Arun (Parasparam) | Harisson (Parasparam) |
| Year | Best Negative actor (Male) | (Female) | Best Character Artist (Male) | Female) | Popular actor | Popular actress | child artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Chandra Lakshman | G. K. Pillai (actor) /Prem Prakash | Srividya | - | - | Sanusha | |
| 2006 | Chandra Lakshman | Sanusha | |||||
| 2008 | Jayan Cherthala | Archana Susheelan | Devan | Sona Nair | Kaushik Babu | - | Nikitha |
| 2011 | Kishore | Aishwarya | T.S.Raju | Sona Nair | Sarath Das | Praveena | Jeevan / Sandra |
| 2012 | Rajesh Hebbar | Ashwathy | T.S.Raju | Mallika Sukumaran | Shanavas | Archana Susheelan | Malavika |
| 2013 | Devendranadh | Ashwathy / Sonu SK | Vishnu Prakash | Sudha Chandran | Rajeev Roshan | Chitra Shenoy | Lekshmipriya |
| 2014 | Shobi Thilakan | Kanya Bharathi | Kottayam Pradeep | Roopa Sree | Sarath Das | Divya Vishwanath | Sidharth,Biswas Chaitanya,Niranjana Sebin,Aditya |
| 2015 | Jishin Mohan | Shalu Kurien /Sonu SK | Santosh Kurup | Roopa Sree /Rekha Ratheesh | Vivek Gopan | Meghna Vincent /Chitra Shenoy | - |
| 2016 | Naveen Arakkal | Archana Susheelan | Santosh Kurup | Rekha Ratheesh / Thara Kalyan | Subramaniam | Gayathri Arun | Akshara Kishor |
| 2017 | Naveen Arakkal | Archana Susheelan | Kottayam Pradeep | Rekha Ratheesh | Subramaniam | Alina Padikkal | Gauri Krishnan |
| 2018 | Arun G Raghavan | Suchithra | Santhosh Kurup | Praveena | Sai Kiran Ram | Darshana | Sana |
Asianet Comedy Awards
This awards is to honor comedy artists of Malayalam cinema and serial industry. This Award show completed its third season in November 2017. Adlxux Convention Centre, Angamali, Cochin hosted the first and second season Asianet comedy awards.
Programming and shows
Asianet is a general entertainment channel with programmes in a wide variety of genres including Malayalam-language movies, soaps, reality shows, talk shows, news programmes, travel shows and music-based shows. While programming is mainly targeted at family audiences, there are several programmes aimed towards specific audiences such as shows for children, teenagers, young working professionals and elders.
The channel also broadcast a successful musical talent reality show - Idea Star Singer.
Current shows
| Title | Time slot | Number of Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Primetime soap operas | ||
| Vezhambal | 5.30 pm IST | 366
(as of 12 October) |
| Ayushman Bhava | 6:00 pm IST | 74 (as of 12 October) |
| Bharya | 6.30pm IST | 716
(as 12 October) |
| Vanambadi | 7:00 pm IST | 520
(as of 13 October) |
| Neelakkuyil | 7:30 pm IST |
194 (as of 13 October) |
| Karuthamuthu | 8:00 pm IST | 1214
(as of 13 October) |
| Kasthooriman | 8:30 pm IST | 258
(as of 13 October) |
| Seetha Kalyanam | 9.00pm IST | 25
(as 12 October) |
| Other Shows | ||
| Taste Time | 12:30 pm IST 4:00pm IST (Monday to Friday) | 1390
(as of 12 September) |
| Comedy Stars Season 2 | 9:30 pm IST (Monday to friday) | 805(as on 9 September) |
| Autograph | 8:00am IST (Sunday) | 19 (as on 22 July) |
| Mukthi Sudhakaram | 6:15am IST(Monday to Saturday) | 2363
(as on 11 October 2017) |
| Padheyam | 6:45am IST(Monday to Saturday) | 222
(as on 11 October 2017) |
| Anantham Ajnatham | 6:30 am IST (Sundays) | 1170
( as on 6 August 2017) |
| Cinema Diary | 1:00pm 8:25 am IST(Sundays) | 912
(as on 9 September) |
| Kissan Krishideepam | 7:30 am IST(Sat/sun) | 722
(as on 6 August 2018) |
| Singapore Choice | 6:00am IST(Sundays) | 501
(as on 6 August 2017) |
| Singapore Taste | 6:45 am IST (Saturdays) | 76
(as on 5 August 2017) |
| US Weekly Roundup | 7:00 am IST(Saturdays) | 701
(as on 5 August 2017) |
| Surya Festival 2017 | 7:00am IST(Sundays) | 103
(as on 10 August 2017) |
| Pathanjali Yoga | 5:00am(Sundays) | 90 (as on 13 October 2017) |
References
- 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
- 1 2 "Star buys majority in Asianet; forms JV with Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Reuters". In.reuters.com. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
- ↑ "Star TV buys majority in Jupiter Entertainment". Business Standard. 2008-11-16. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ↑ "Asianet to launch movie channel on July 15". Business Line. 11 July 2012.
- ↑ "Asianet to launch 24 hour movie channel". Business Standard. 11 July 2012.
- ↑ VCCircle (2008-11-17). "M & A Star Buys Majority In Asianet; Forms JV With Rajeev Chandrasekhar". contentSutra. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
- ↑ "" (2009-05-15). "SHYAMASUNDARA Signature song of Asianet By Pavitra online". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-07-16.