The Beginning

On the 2nd-3rd of Dec 2006, a group of activists and broadcasters met in Kolkata at the inititiative of Tara Newz (www.taratv.com) and decided to form 'Southasian'. The launch of the initiative: Southasian happened on the eve of the 14th SAARC Summit in Delhi. The first program was aired on the 8th of April, 2007 which led to the broadcasters' decision on the 16th of August 2007 to form a channel. The channel has started being previewed on the 19th of April, 2008. The 30 minutes weekly magazine : Southasian had news analysis, music, features, interviews, etc.

The show was viewed in all the participating countries and the objective was to address the common issues of the region and make the audience aware of the same. Programs like: Southasia Calling connected people from all over the region on a virtual platform and discussed issues that are common in the region. For example, shows like 'Is Southasia ready for the truth?' addressed the Truth Commissions all over the region, 'Is Southasia Just" focused on the judiciary of the region, 'Is Southasia sensitive' focused on the violation of human rights in the region, etc

It is for the first time in history that the private electronic media channels have come together and have formed a collaborative channel sharing the same view points on diversity, heritage, bondage and possibilities.

The contribution from the other countries is in the form of content and air time. The collaboration proves that private ventures can and will continue to bridge the regional discomforts with healers. TV Southasia believes in unity within diversity. By linking lands and legacies, TVSA aims to focus on the common bondages that exist in the region.

TV Southasia looks forward to SHAPE-ing (short for Skills, Health, Awareness, Poverty alleviation and Education) Southasia. TVSA will be encouraging programs that will encourage transfer of knowledge and skills within the region through AAJ TV from Pakistan, Image Channels from Nepal, MTV Group (Pvt) Ltd from Sri Lanka.

TVSA has been on air since the 19th of April, 2008 through THAICOM 5 satellite on a downlink frequency of 4004 MHz, symbol rate 06666 Msymbol, FEC ¾, polarisation vertical. We are starting with the metropolitan areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and soon on DTH platforms available through out the country.

The language of the content is essentially English. TVSA is concentrating on talk shows, interviews, lifestyle, music, short films, sports, cuisine, quiz et al.

Keen audiences willing to become familiar with the strengths that exist amongst all the countries of the region are who we are focusing at. TV Southasia should be positioned as a channel that SHAPE-s the region through recognizing diversities from a unified platform. The marketing initiatives for the newly launched channel TV Southasia –which will be through platforms are our own channels including the channels of our partners, the internet, website (www.tvsouthasia.com).