ATN GIVES WAY TO ETN

The three founders of InCablenet, Yogesh Radhakrishnan, Yogesh Shah and Jagjit Singh Kohli, who broke away from the MSO, have relaunched the now-on, the now-off ATN. Branded as Entertainment Television Network (ETN), the channel is being beamed off Thaicom-3.

The trio has the backing of a prominent Hindi film industry financer, Jhamu Sughand, apart from other backers. It is believed that even Lalit Modi of the Modi Entertainment Group is putting his might behind the channel. The earlier promoter of ATN, Siddharth Shrivastava is not associated with the rebranded service. ETN has been positioned as a 24 hour Hindi music channel as compared to Channel V, Music Asia and MTV, which feature a blend of Hindi and Western music. "The other channels are targeted at the youth and the metros mainly. ETN's focus will be on all segments of the Indian population, age-wise and socioeconomic classification-wise," says Radhakrishnan.

According to him, ETN is going to succeed because cable operators - who are put off by the western music on the other music channels - in the hinterlands are sure to place the channel on the prime band. "Also, unlike other channels there will also be more music and less talk on ETN. More Hindi music, mind you," says Radhakrishnan.

He believes that once the channel gets penetration, advertisers will sign on. Some such as Coke and Rasna are already using ETN as an advertising vehicle. "We are investing in new programming and giving the channel a fresh look. You will see the changes in the next couple of months," says Radhakrishnan.

He adds that ETN is going to benefit the Indian film industry in a big way because the trio has plans to use it effectively to promote new releases in the shape of contests and events. He is confident that ETN will last out this time. In the past, ATN had been switched off time and again because promoter Shrivastava failed to meet its commitments to satellite operators for transponder rentals.