Asian Television Network International (ATN) has struck a deal with Times Television Network, a subsidiary of Indian media conglomerate The Times Group, to add three of its channels to its Canadian broadcast roster.
Byrne Fulton, chief financial officer for the South Asian broadcaster, said that with the agreement in place, the company will now set out to secure CRTC approval for the three services: all-news channel Times Now, business news channel ET Now and the Bollywood service ZoOm.
Fulton said a CRTC decision on the channels is expected sometime next year.
“[The channels are] of significant importance to us,” said Fulton from ATN’s headquarters in Newmarket, Ont. “We have other news programs, but these services just complement them.”
The Times Television Network is part of the vast Times Group media empire, which also boasts extensive print holdings including The Times of India, India’s largest business daily The Economic Times as well as other regional newspapers and more than 30 magazines.
The group has exported its TV services to Australia, New Zealand, Nepal and Africa in recent months. “They wanted to expand and we were there join them and do a deal for Canada when the time was right,” said Fulton.
The three specialty services, which cater to urban affluent audiences, are expected to “easily connect” with Canada’s sizeable Indian and Asian communities, said ATN in a release.
“Times is a huge company and we did the deal with them because they will bring us exceptional channels, they will increase our viewers,” said Fulton.
ATN currently operates 29 specialty TV services, led by its flagship service ATN, as well as ATN Asian Radio on XM Satellite Radio in both Canada and the U.S. It also distributes South Asian content across the Bell Mobility network.
The company has been aggressively building out its broadcast platform in recent months, including the Oct. 28 launch of the ATN Neo Cricket channel on Rogers Cable.
It recently reported a second quarter pre-tax profit of $900,000 on revenues of $5.2 million, reflecting what it called “substantial growth” of its core revenues that it said sets a future trend.
