With just under three months to go before it officially turns 5, action-adventure channel AXN states it now has over 30 million subscriber households in Asia.

Recent launches on Malaysia's ASTRO and Pakistan's Leo Communications platforms, and significant subscription increases in key Asian markets, have contributed to the network's robust growth in Asia. Include China, where it is seen in 40 million households on day-part basis, and AXN Asia's regional distribution is over 70 million, a company release says.


"Cable television viewers and cable operators across Asia know that for the best in action-adventure programming, there is only one choice - AXN," said Todd Miller, AXN's managing director. "The buzz, which first came to Asia in the thick of the economic crisis in 1997, is now a resounding beat that's sounded across the region."

Launched on 21 September 1997, AXN - a Columbia Tristar International Television / Sony Pictures Entertainment channel - has experienced a steady upward momentum in regional distribution, making it one of the widest distributed and fastest growing regional cable and satellite channels in Asia, the release says.

"AXN's brand awareness has grown from strength to strength, with an undeniable shift in the perception of AXN amongst viewers, key decision makers and media planners" said Miller. "Recent events like the Hong Kong AXN Challenge, the Nokia Urban Challenge, the Action Movie Festivals, and the annual Anime Festivals have attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers from across the region, giving them the opportunity to live the attitudinally 20-something AXN lifestyle, while our programs are now subjects of regular water cooler conversations."

Miller also explained that the channel's growth was boosted by its burgeoning on-air and production capabilities, which now give viewers and advertisers more localised content, promos and vignettes. Last year's original Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon promos took home the Promax and BDA Asia 2001's Silver award for Funniest Spot, while locally-produced channel promos - depicting people who 'get the buzz' - will be launched next week Asia-wide on AXN's three feeds.

"For AXN, the arrow points only one way - upwards," concluded Miller.




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