Imagine TV

Imagine TV was a popular Hindi general entertainment channel, owned by Turner Broadcasting System based in New Delhi.

For other uses, see Imagine (disambiguation).

CountryIndia
Broadcast areaWorldwide
SloganEntertain and Delight.
HeadquartersMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Programming
Picture format576i
Ownership
OwnerTurner Broadcasting System
(Time Warner)
Sister channelsLumiere Movies
History
Launched21 January 2008 (2008-01-21)
Closed11 May 2012 (2012-05-11)
Former namesNDTV Imagine (21 January 2008 – 7 March 2010) Imagine TV (7 March 2010-11 May 2012)
Links
Websiteimagine.tv (closed)
Availability
Cable
Hathway (India)Channel 12
Satellite
Airtel digital TV (India)Channel 106
BIG TV (India)Channel 7
DishTV (India)Channel 104
Sun Direct DTH (India)Channel 1
Tata Sky (India)Channel 107
Dish Network (USA)Channel 574
Nilesat (Middle East)12341V 27500 3/4
IPTV
Unifi (Malaysia)Channel 199

The channel was known for shows like Ramayan (2008), Chandragupta Maurya, Swayamvar, Meethi Chhori No 1, Jyoti, Do Hanson Ka Jodaa, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Junoon, Pardes Mein Mila Koi Apna, , Haar Jeet, Seeta Aur Geeta, Jasuben Jayantilaal Joshi Ki Joint Family, Knights & Angels, Oye! It's Friday!, Nachle Ve with Saroj Khan, Rehna Hai Teri Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain, Rakt Sambandh, Main Teri Parchhain Hoon, Dil Jeetegi Desi Girl, Gunahon Ka Devta, Sawaare Sabke Sapne Preeto, Shaadi 3 Crore Ki, Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi, and Looteri Dulhan.

History

Launch

The channel was established by NDTV Group under the stewardship of former STAR India CEO Sameer Nair. The channel was launched in India on 21 January 2008 as NDTV Imagine. Imagine TV tied up with Karan Johar, the creative consultant and ambassador of the Imagine TV brand. The channel was originally launched by NDTV in partnership with NBCUniversal but NBCUniversal left the partnership in October 2009.[1][2]

In December 2009, online and mobile video service NyooTV agreed a deal with NDTV Imagine to distribute ongoing and past TV shows on the platform.[3]

Sale to Turner

On 8 December 2009, it was announced that Turner Asia Pacific Ventures (a wholly owned subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System) had acquired a 92% stake in NDTV Imagine Ltd.[4] NDTV's 76 percent stake in NDTV Imagine would be given to Turner for $67 million, and the Time Warner company would acquire fresh equity worth $50 million to get 92% control. NDTV Imagine Ltd. ran NDTV Imagine, NDTV Lumiere and NDTV Imagine Showbiz television channels and film production transfer of shares, amounting to 85.68% of NDTV Imagine Ltd, by NDTV Networks Plc to Turner Asia Pacific Ventures.[5] The three channels will be under Turner General Entertainment Networks, a holding company that will infuse fresh capital to fund the network's growth. The 'NDTV' brand was dropped and the channels were relabelled Imagine TV, Lumiere Movies and Imagine Showbiz. Imagine Showbiz was sold in January 2011 to Reliance Broadcast Network.

Shutdown
Imagine TV has not performed and grown as per expectations. While some programmes delivered satisfactory ratings, overall the channel was unable to achieve the rating consistency needed to sustain the business and support continued investment. As a result, Turner made the carefully considered decision to cease operations of the channel. We are grateful to the Imagine team, which includes some of the most talented and creative people in the Indian media industry. We will use our best endeavors to make this as smooth a transition as possible for them.[1]

—Siddharth Jain, MD – South Asia, Turner International India

On 12 April 2012, it was announced that Imagine TV would close, as the channel struggled for ratings amidst competition from rival Hindi entertainment channels, where it was even beaten by the newly launched Life OK. The channel faced the same fate for its sister channel Real.[6][7][8][9] Although all of its business operations will close with immediate effect, the channel will continue to air reruns from 13 April, until official obligations ended and it could cease transmissions completely.[10]

Imagine TV shut down on 11 May 2012 at midnight in India. As of 12 May 2012, the channel has been removed successfully from all operators. Imagine TV's website was also closed and all episodes and promos were deleted from its YouTube channel.

In the Middle East Imagine closed on 30 May 2012, when the channel was replaced by Imagine Movies. The UK and Irish feed of Imagine Dil Se closed on 6 July 2012.[11] The channel's Sky EPG slot was purchased by Viacom 18 to launch Rishtey, a free-to-air sister channel for Colors.[12]

International availability

In the UK and Ireland, Imagine TV is broadcast on the Sky platform, where it is free-to-air. Due to copyright issues, the channel was unable to use 'Imagine TV' in the region, therefore it was rebranded as Imagine Dil Se, from NDTV Imagine, on 1 November 2010.[13] The feed proved to be a success, beating Star Plus in the UK ratings to become the most watched Asian channel.[14] Some of the shows like Bandini and Jyoti were extremely popular in the region.

From 4 February 2009 Imagine was available in the US on the Dish Network platform. Imagine was also available free-to-air on Nilesat in the Middle East. In November 2009, NDTV Imagine launched in Canada in partnership with Canadian broadcaster Ethnic Channels Group and is available on Bell Satellite TV. The channel was rebranded as Imagine Dil Se in early 2011. The channel was also aired in parts of Asia Pacific viz- Fiji, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, apart from Nepal and Bangladesh.

Programming
Main article: List of programs broadcast by Imagine TV

References
  1. "Curtains down on Imagine TV". exchange4media. 12 April 2012.
  2. "NBC Universal Is Exiting NDTV Networks; Who Will Come In?". paidContent. 15 October 2012.
  3. "Online TV Platform NyooTV.com To Join Hands With NDTV Imagine For Content". WAT blog. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  4. "Turner buys 92% stake in NDTV Imagine". Biz Asia. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  5. "Turner completes acquisition, NDTV Imagine becomes Imagine TV". Indian Television. 24 February 2010.
  6. "Imagine TV shuts down". Times of India. 12 April 2012.
  7. Turner launches Hindi GEC via local JV Real shutters within a year. Television post. 2 September 2013.
  8. Imagine TV to shut down as viewership declines. Livemint. Shuchi Bansal. April 2012.
  9. Second Time Unlucky. The Hoot. 19 April 2012.
  10. "Turner pulls plug on Indian channel Imagine TV". Rapid TV News. 12 April 2012.
  11. "Imagine Dil Se ceases broadcast in UK". Biz Asia. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  12. "EXCLUSIVE: Colors new UK TV channel named Rishtey". BizAsia. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012.
  13. "Imagine UK's new brand revealed". Biz Asia. 26 October 2010. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010.
  14. "Imagine Dil Se overtakes Star Plus in the UK". Biz Asia. 7 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
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