Atn Plans Another Bengali Channel

Asian Television Network (ATN) International Ltd is all set to launch yet another Bengali channel, ATN World. The channel is slated to be launched this month.

The channel was aired in November, last year, for a month for test signals.

Tapan Roy, director-programme and marketing, ATN, told Business Standard: "We received an overwhelming response from the audience and hence decided to go ahead with the launch".

While ATN's existing channel, ATN Bangla, features only Bangladeshi programmes in the prime time slot, ATN World will devote itself solely to Indian programming in the Bengali language. Around 80 per cent of advertisement revenues for ATN Bangla comes from Bangladesh. Of these, cigarette and liquor are major contributors.

The channel will air daily soaps and weekly serials based on family drama, comedy and suspense thrillers. However, informative programmes like news round-ups, daily news and other current affairs programmes will also feature in a major way.

ATN World will be the third Bengali channel to be launched in the last two months. The current viewership for Bengali programmes is estimated at 54.5 million in West Bengal alone and an additional 2.9 million in Bangladesh.

`Mukhosh' produced by Devgan Entertainment Limited will be aired on ATN World. The entire soap has been shot in Mumbai and features Biswajit, Moonmoon Sen and Anjan Srivastav among others. `Tak-Jhal-Mishti', another soap has Chiranjit and Debashree Roy for the first time in Bengali daily soap.

According to sources in the film industry, "With Tollywood on artificial respiration, some of the small-time-big-screen producers are now trying to emerge as the prince of the prime times."

ATN Bangla, was one of the first Bengali satellite channels to be launched. Till 1994 Doordarshan Kendra Calcutta(DDK) enjoyed a complete monopoly with regard to the telecast of Bengali programmes. ATN Bangla is telecast from Bangkok, Thailand, to 29 countries.