TV Asia was the first Asian TV channel to be founded in the UK. Launched in 1990, and originally broadcasting overnights during
Sky One's downtime, it was Europe's first entertainment and information channel for the
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
n community from the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. TV Asia was conceptualised and founded by Wasim Mehmood and Mohan Thariyan and after it had secured its status in the UK in 1992, it was sold to a partnership formed between the top Indian talent represented by
Amitabh Bachchan; after two successful years the channel was sold at a profit to Dolphin Group owned by Ketan Somaiya. Dolphin Group negotiated the deal for the channel to be sold to Subash Chandra's flagship Zee (India) and TV Asia was renamed as Zee TV (UK).
Some of the most popular shows on TV Asia and ZEE TV.UK were first ever Asian pop chart show 'Music Channel Charts' and drama serial 'French Toast', both were produced and directed by popular British Asian artist Yasir Akhtar and Ghazanfar Ali.
In
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
North America, TV Asia was also the first coast-to-coast entertainment and information channel for the South Asian community settled in the U.S. In spite of different ownership, currently TV Asia has retained the same logo and style of programming and airs regularly scheduled programs in
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
,
English,
Gujarati, and other regional languages, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The current Chairman/CEO of TV Asia is H.R. Shah.
See also
*
List of South Asian television channels in the United States
References
External links
Official Website (United States)
1990 establishments in the United Kingdom
1995 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Television channels and stations established in 1990
Television channels and stations disestablished in 1995
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