ImaginAsian

[Faithless]

ImaginAsian TV sets premiere for August 30th

Nation's First Asian American Network Launches With 5 Million HH

New Deals Bring 24/7 Stations Aboard in Key Markets; Also Secures Satellite Uplink Agreement with Equity Broadcasting.

Read the press release.


NEW YORK, AUGUST 24 - ImaginAsian TV, formed in June of last year as the nation's first 24-hour Asian American television network, has set August 30 as its premiere date. The network's pass-by reach at launch is over five million households, as a result of new distribution agreements it has reached with Equity Broadcasting Corporation. The announcements were made today by Michael Hong, CEO of ImaginAsian TV.

In addition to previously announced carriage agreements for KTVY (Channel 7) in Las Vegas, Nevada, KIMG (Channel 23) in Ventura, California, and KKTU-DT (Channel 11) in Denver, Colorado, ImaginAsian TV has secured new distribution agreements with Equity Broadcasting for W55CR (Channel 45) in Atlanta, Georgia, KO7UI (Channel 7) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and K58DP (Channel 30) in Seattle, Washington. Active discussions are ongoing for several additional major metropolitan markets.

Said Mr. Hong, "This is a very proud moment for our dedicated team. We are not only launching within the timeframe originally set a year ago, but we have surpassed our initial distribution goal as well." He added, "What we offer to America is the total pan-Asian entertainment package that appeals to all Americans looking for a variety of high quality programs. With the launch of ImaginAsian TV, we are permanently changing the media landscape of mainstream America."

In a related move, Mr. Hong also announced that ImaginAsian TV has reached a separate agreement with Equity Broadcasting Corporation for its first satellite uplink. As a result of this deal, ImaginAsian TV will be carried on the Galaxy Satellite - 10 R KU band, transponder 5. The downlink (vertical) is 12125.5 KHz.


Programming Content and Primetime Lineup

ImaginAsian TV provides quality programming in significant quantity that includes an extensive library of VOD and Pay-Per-View content. Notable titles among many fine programs that ImaginAsian TV plans to offer include: All-In, a number one rated drama series from SBS and Address Unknown by famed film director Kim Ki-Duk from South Korea; Gravitation, an anime program from Right Stuf and Melody of the Heart, a popular NHK drama series from Japan; classic kung-fu films Heroes of Shaolin, Prodigal Son, and Fist of Fury III, and Hong Kong's reality dating show Love Challenge from China; Sun Shines Above from Vietnam; Weekly Championship Kick-Boxing Series from Cambodia; and Newsweek South Asia, a fast-paced Asian news and information report from India.

Samples of ImaginAsian TV's primetime lineup are:

" All About Eve (Fridays @ 8:00pm, Korea) - A drama about two female news reporters competing in a fierce battle for the network's top spot, and even for their loved ones.
" Damo (Saturdays @ 9:00 pm, Korea) - An action/drama series set in 16th century Korea in which a female investigator who specializes in martial arts and swords faces challenges in her investigations.
" Kendo's Grueling Challenge (Thursdays @11:00 pm, Japan) - An NHK documentary that follows hundreds of participants striving to accomplish one of the world's most difficult challenges: to become an eighth dan in Kendo, derived from samurai fighting techniques.
" The Life's Debt (Wednesdays @ 8:00pm, Vietnam) - A dramatic narrative of family, personality, and love in which a pregnant woman is abandoned by her seducer, shunned by her family, and subsequently, forced into a situation where human life is bought, sold, and exchanged.
" Show Music Tank (Thursdays @ 8:00pm, Korea) - This weekly music show is the hottest music video series in Korea and the equivalent of MTV's "Total Request Live," in which hosts introduce videos and live performances by Korea's hottest pop stars, hip-hop crews, rock bands and teen idols in front of an audience of young fans.
" Kyon (Sept. 13, Friday @ 9:00 pm, India) - This Bollywood movie gives a glimpse into the lives of five college friends in urban India, from dysfunction to indulgence in money, alcohol, drugs, sex, and other forms of entertainment.
" Soch (Sept. 18, Saturday @ 8:00 pm, India) - A Bollywood murder/mystery revolving around Raj, a popular film star, and his wife, Madhulika, showing how jealousy and misunderstanding lead to tragedy.


ImaginAsian TV will offer viewers both a variety of original programming, as well as high quality series and movies through programming agreements with such prominent Asian television companies as China Movie Channel (CCTV 6 - one of the top two channels in China), Fortune Star, NHK, TV Asahi (one of the highest-rated networks in Japan), Vietnam Media Corp. (the largest distributor of top Vietnamese films and television programs), South Korea's MBC, SBS, CJ Media, Asian News International (South Asia's leading news agency), Eros Entertainment (India's principal distributor of Bollywood films) and many other leading film and television production and distribution companies in Asia.

Fully advertiser supported, ImaginAsian TV has invested in major marketing efforts, as it will serve the entertainment and information needs of all Americans, including the growing number of Asian Americans residing in the U.S., currently at 12 million. At launch, the network will offer American premieres of the finest programs from Asia, as well as original productions developed and produced by the network. All ImaginAsian TV programming is English subtitled/accessible.

About ImaginAsian TV & The ImaginAsian

ImaginAsian TV (iaTV) is America's first national 24-hour Asian American network, serving the diverse cultures and entertainment demands of more than 12 million Asian Americans. iaTV (www.iatv.tv) offers top-notch entertainment, news, music videos, movies, and original programming from the U.S. and Asia. All foreign-language programs are subtitled in English to meet the needs of the general public, and English-speaking hosts will introduce shows during prime time. iaTV also provides unprecedented access for advertisers seeking the fastest growing, most upscale ethnic segment in the United States.

iaTV and The ImaginAsian (www.theimaginasian.com), New York City's only Asian American theater solely dedicated to showcasing the exciting world of Asian and Asian American cinema and culture, are wholly owned and operated by ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc. Beginning with iaTV, ImaginAsian Entertainment's long-term vision is to create and launch a series of Asian networks devoted to providing televised entertainment, news, and information to all the major sub-segments of the Asian American community. Ultimately, the Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Southeast Asian networks will provide unprecedented access for advertisers seeking the fastest growing, most economically influential ethnic segment in the U.S. With The ImaginAsian's lineup of hit movies and iaTV's exciting pan-Asian programming, these two entertainment sources will serve as a crucial gateway to the neglected Asian American market across the U.S.

[SunWuKong]

i wonder if i can get it in DC/NoVa.

[kimpossible]

Interesting. I wonder how it will do and with what demographic. Most people I know who go for 'Asian' tv get a specific country/language like terebi Japan or Chinese tv subsidized with a heavy amount of passed around serials on VCD.

[raacluse]

I heard some of the IAtv folks talk at Otakon (Baltimore anime festival back in late July) about their plans.

They're targetting 16-34 year olds.

They mentioned that they were trying to negotiate with a carrier in the Baltimore-Wash. area.

I figured they must have deep pockets to be able to acquire all that programming.

What was so welcome was their desire for Asian American content.

[Faithless]

Asian-American Network Launches New Original Shows

NEW YORK, December 15: The Asian-American television network ImaginAsian TV is planning to launch its first original comedy series this month–Uncle Morty's Dub Shack.

Set to premiere on December 17 at 9 p.m., the show follows four struggling rappers who are hired by their Uncle Morty to dub over mediocre Asian films. The series will air weekly in primetime beginning in February. "We're poking fun at lesser-known films from everywhere in Asia, turning the sound down, and turning the humor up," said Jimbo Matison, the VP and creative director at ImaginAsian TV. "There have been shows in the past that allowed us to laugh at old obscure Hollywood films in a similar way, like Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Uncle Morty's Dub Shack really pushes it all to a new level of absurdity."

Also on the schedule for this month, on December 24, is Robert Chu's Golden Christmas Spectacular.

"These programs are an example of how ImaginAsian TV showcases a unique blend of original and acquired programming," said David Chu, ImaginAsian TV's VP of programming and acquisitions. "This is just the beginning of our efforts to get more talented Asian Americans in front of and behind the camera, and to expand on the current crop of entertainment choices on television by introducing cutting-edge Asian American programs into the mix."

[AMWD]

Please carry ImaginAsian TV in Basic Service!
http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/9082.php
Related Page: http://www.asianmediawatchdog.com/ia/ia.html

We had a thread on "Get Involved" section. Can be merged?

JF

[Faithless]

Originally Posted by AMWD

We had a thread on "Get Involved" section. Can be merged?

JF

It's up to mods, neh.

But this thread doesn't necessarily have to be about the promotion of the cable channel, as much as, the content and the organization, etc.

[sandra]

i've been watching this pretty regularly now. it's channel 101 on comcast in the l.a. area. the korean soaps that they pick aren't bad, and there are some great hk movies from the 70s and 80s. they also have some ads about racism, though the one depicting the elderly chinese liquor store owner as racist against blacks really annoys me. why fight racism by first labelling one group as racist?

[moJo]

Asian channel a scrappy new TV contender

Anyone who was around to witness the earnestly non-pro beginnings of MTV will feel a twinge of nostalgia as ImaginAsian TV tries to make a go of it.

Already on Comcast's Channel 28 in San Francisco (as well as Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Las Vegas, Reno and Ventura), ImaginAsian TV is the first 24- hour Asian American channel, but certainly not the only one. Like Latinos before them, Asians are finding they are the "it" minority of 2005 in terms of television.

As if to illustrate this trend in one stark example, the International Channel -- formerly home to African, Arabic, Chinese, Filipino, French, Iranian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, South Asian and Vietnamese programs -- will drop everybody else and exclusively cater to an Asian audience, starting March 28.

The reason? Same old story: Follow the money.

"With Asians being the fastest growing, most affluent and youngest ethnic group in the United States, this is a highly desirable audience for advertisers," said Bill Georges, vice president of advertising sales at the International Channel.

This may come as a surprise to Asians, however, since it's been virtually impossible for them to see themselves on television -- or at least to see themselves portrayed with any real depth of character. And yet, Americans have taken a broader interest in Asian films, anime and fashion, so if you're a trend-watcher and money-trail sleuth, it all makes sense.

There's a content question, though, about where this all leads. Renting "Hero" or watching Japanese-influenced cartoons is one thing, but what about programming by and for Asians in the United States? San Francisco's KTSF co- produced a series called "Stir," but ImaginAsian TV is trying to step up with a full slate of primetime programming.

To that end, the channel will air its first-ever sitcom, "Uncle Morty's Dub Shack," tonight at 11. It's about four friends in a rap group -- none of them too bright -- who pick up cash helping Morty dub really bad Asian films into English. It's "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" meets the Beastie Boys.

The series has that wonderful let's-make-a-TV-show quality to it, which is by no means a knock in a TV world filled with slickly processed, underwhelming crap. If "Uncle Morty's Dub Shack" seems more cable access than something you might see on, say, the Food Network or Outdoor Life Channel or, certainly, Telemundo, that's because it is. And that's precisely where the joy in watching it resides. "Uncle Morty's Dub Shack" is simultaneously stupid and brilliant. A decade from now, if ImaginAsian TV has successfully implemented its business plan and all of its early employees are driving Kompressors, the content of its series might be a whole lot more polished but probably also less irreverent.

Looking back on clips of those old MTV days, it's clear the VJs didn't have the self-conscious self-awareness they do now. Which was a good thing. But the modern marketplace in television is often dominated by channels -- and even off-the-shelf content -- produced by companies with links to other, bigger companies. Which means a lot of money is involved. Which means it's all high gloss, no grain. Whole channels are birthed now with a professional sheen that belies their inexperience.

And while ImaginAsian TV has cool graphics, a clean Web site, a small movie theater in New York and a radio show in San Francisco (KSQQ 96.1 FM), it's still decidedly, affectionately, low-budget -- a nascent channel trying to find itself. It undoubtedly perceives itself as polished -- few networks have a real sense of their own reflection -- but judging by "Uncle Morty's Dub Shack" and some of ImaginAsian's other primetime original series, the allure at this moment is its rawness, its eagerness to just be on the air hoping to be seen.

Presenting what it calls Pan-Asian programming in English, ImaginAsian TV is based in New York but has found it difficult to launch there. In fact, ImaginAsian TV may find the going ahead brutally difficult, not only because MTV is launching three ethnic-specific channels to an American audience this year -- MTV China, MTV Korea, MTV Desi (directed to South Asian Americans), but also because cable giant Comcast owns the International Channel, which, in its rebranded state, could pose a significant threat.

But that's just one of many obstacles for any network. Getting carried has never been easy -- even for established cable channels with 10 to 40 million subscribers. That ImaginAsian is even flickering at this point is success enough.

Then again, there's a lot of sudden interest in the Asian marketplace, all backed by big bucks. MTV wasn't the first in the arena (there's already a channel called American Desi) but it's still the most powerful brand in the world and will bring that to bear on the Asian youth of America, essentially gumming up the works for every other competitor.

Emerging Asian channels are most often compared with BET, serving the African American audience, and Telemundo, catering to the Latino market (where there is no shortage of channels, from Univision to Galivision).

But those are channels with deep roots, channels that have evolved through time and, in many instances, are as slickly produced as any American broadcast network. ImaginAsian TV, on the other hand, has dreams far bigger than its bank account -- and ability to pay for super "produced" programming.

Not a problem. Because witnessing the creative birth of a new channel is always more fascinating than, say, watching "TRL."

E-mail Tim Goodman at tgoodman@sfchronicle.com.

[yoMAMA]

sounds like a good start for more fair representation of asian ameriancs on TV.

[hooligan]

I watch it regularly as well, but lately it's been pilates. I think something's going on with the cable. I need to talk to my roommates about getting it done, they might be cancelling subscriptions without telling me. >: |

[Banana]

Is this channel chock full of Asian movies/shows about Asians in Asia or shows/movies about Asian Americans in America?

[hooligan]

Originally Posted by Banana

Is this channel chock full of Asian movies/shows about Asians in Asia or shows/movies about Asian Americans in America?

more along the lines of asian cinema up and down the asia. including a lot of bollywood movies, which are craazzy.

[Banana]

Eh, doesn't seem to be that impressive then.

[hooligan]

Originally Posted by Banana

Eh, doesn't seem to be that impressive then.

: ( i know, but you can only watch Better Luck Tomorrow and Charlotte Sometimes so many times until you start memorizing the movies.