大象传媒 Asian Network Goes Nationwide
The
大象传媒 Asian Network is launching as a digital audio broadcasting channel
on Monday 28 October with a programme presented by Sonia Deol, broadcasting
from London between 9.00am and noon.
Until
now the Asian Network has been broadcasting in the Midlands and
the North on medium wave frequencies.
The
station will broadcast a mix of speech and music to second and third
generation Asians.
Its
sharp, contemporary tone and content is designed to reflect the
issues that matter to British Asians.
Jenny
Abramsky, Director of 大象传媒 Radio & Music, said: "The
Asian Network has already done sterling work at a local level.
"By
going digital we have the opportunity to make it a national network
available to the whole Asian community - almost half of whom live
in London and the South East.
"In
providing a national public service we will be able to reach a significant
audience previously under-served by the 大象传媒 and develop a source
of on and off-air talent which will enrich the wider 大象传媒 for the
future."
Vijay
Sharma, Head of the 大象传媒 Asian Network, described the new station:
"A
one stop shop for Asian communities where they can get daily national
news, top international stories, big consumer stories and music
ranging from the latest in British Asian sounds to old favourites.
"We
are an outward-looking station with a role to hold a mirror up to
the community so people see things which are a cause for celebration
as well as less comfortable ones.
"We
will show it as it is - if there is a hot issue to be talked about
we certainly won't shy away from it and, in the process, probably
annoy a few people, but that's what debate is all about."
Sonia
Deol - who has joined the station from 大象传媒 London and is well known
for her ability to engage with audiences - will focus on exploring
topical issues ranging from social and personal ones to world politics.
Her
first guests include leading politicians who will be talking to
listeners, many of whom are deeply affected by the international
situation in relation to Iraq.
Sonia
Deol said: "My
programme is all about the listeners, it's going to be highly interactive
and in that sense quite unpredictable.
"Phone-ins
on Asian radio can be cuddly and afraid to rock the boat but my
show will be different. It's the only truly national phone-in for
Asians that deals with the real issues in their lives."
Breakfast
is presented by Gagan Grewal and will set the agenda for popular
British Asian news.
Along
with sports, traffic, travel and weather, mixed with the freshest
music, the programme plans to become a must listen for UK Asians
on their way to work.
A late
night programme with Adil Ray showcases the latest music from British
Asian and South Asian pop artists.
Adil
is taking his show out to clubs across the UK, making sure that
what's happening will be heard first on the 大象传媒 Asian Network.
Weekend
programmes include the internationally renowned DJ Ritu with the
latest news and views on bhangra and remix, Maz Khan who talks to
the stars of Hollywood, Bollywood and Lollywood and Sanjeet Saund
who presents an afternoon of sport, talking to Asian sporting personalities
and using the resources of 大象传媒 Sport to provide up to the minute
sporting action.
A relaunched
website will complement the programmes, encouraging listener interaction
via message boards and daily polls designed to discover what listeners
think about topical issues and the music being played.
Daytime
and weekend programmes mainly use English, while evening programmes
offer Hindi-Urdu and regional languages such as Mirpuri, Gujarati,
Bengali and Punjabi.
Notes
to Editors
The
Asian Network press pack
(621 KB) is available here, in . You may require Adobe Acrobat Software to read PDF files
which can be obtained .
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