(18 June 2008 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Asian satellite operator Asiasat and Chitkara have announced a lease agreement to supply Chitkara with Asiasat 2’s C-band transponder capacity for the launch of a new television channel called Cube 3 across India.

This new channel, scheduled for service launch next month, will be a free to air city centric television service broadcasting in Punjabi language. Its programming content will be news and general entertainment focused, targeting primarily viewers in Chandigarh, capital of the Punjab state and one of the most modern and affluent cities in India.

"Asiasat 2 is a well known satellite in India with a very attractive South Asian and international channel neighbourhood. We trust that this highly popular satellite can ensure the success of our service launch in India.

“While the number of urban cities of higher living standard and per capita income continues to increase across the country, we see a growing niche market for focused city based channels catering to the needs of local citizens for more local information and entertainment.”

Asiasat CEO Peter Jackson said, “We are pleased that Chitkara chose AsiaSat 2 for its new channel launch in India, serving local viewers local language and city centric programming content. Chitkara is India’s highly regarded educational institute group, we look forward to supporting its new entry into the electronic media sector, and the roaring success of Cube 3’s launch with Asiasat 2 providing powerful coverage and excellent audience access to both local and regional areas.”