Asian Television Network

Asian Television Network, commonly known as ATN, is a Canadian multicultural broadcasting company focused primarily on South Asian audiences. Operating since 1997, the company develops, owns, operates, and distributes television and radio services intended for the diverse South Asian communities in Canada, while also reaching audiences in the United States through selected services. Its headquarters are in Markham, Ontario, an important centre of Canada's South Asian population. ATN's principal business is television. The company has launched and operated a large portfolio of Canadian specialty channels and, according to the referenced Wikipedia description, operates 54 television channels in nine languages while holding licences for additional services. Its programming scope includes entertainment, news, music, sports, films, religious content, lifestyle programming, and community-oriented material. The portfolio is designed to serve linguistic and cultural groups that are often divided across Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, and other South Asian language markets. ATN also distributes selected foreign broadcasters in Canada, including ABP News from India, ARY Qtv from Pakistan, Channel i from Bangladesh, and NDTV Good Times from India. Radio has been another part of ATN's multicultural strategy. ATN-Asian Radio was developed as a satellite-radio service for South Asian listeners in North America. The service combined talk and call-in programming, music, poetry, news, current affairs, and live cricket commentary. It entered preview service on XM in September 2007 and formally launched on XM Canada in October of that year. In 2008, the service carried live Indian Premier League matches under ATN's broadcasting-rights arrangements. It later became available through SiriusXM's Canadian lineup and, by 2014, was carried as part of the Multicultural Radio offering on channel 165. The service was removed from the SiriusXM lineup in January 2025. ATN's operating model combines original or locally commissioned programming with licensed international content and channel-distribution agreements. This allows the company to present familiar South Asian media brands to Canadian viewers while also developing services adapted to Canadian broadcasting requirements and local community needs. The company has also been involved in rights acquisition for major sports properties, including cricket, which is a significant audience driver among its target markets. The company is associated with Indo-Canadian broadcaster Shan Chandrasekar, who has headed ATN, and with Jaya Chandrasekar, who has held senior programming and executive responsibilities. Jaya Chandrasekar was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2008. ATN was ranked ninth in the Diversified Industries category of the TSX Venture 50 in 2011. The company remains a specialist multicultural broadcaster whose identity is rooted in serving South Asian audiences in Canada through a broad portfolio of language-specific television services and related media offerings.

Asian Television Network began operating in Canada in 1997 as a broadcaster focused on the country's growing South Asian communities. Its business developed within Canada's multicultural specialty-television environment, where audiences are distributed across many languages and where broadcasters can build targeted services around cultural, linguistic, religious, entertainment, and sports interests. Rather than operating as a single general-interest channel, ATN built a portfolio approach, creating or operating multiple services intended for distinct South Asian audience segments. Television became the company's central activity. ATN launched and operated numerous Canadian channels, using a mixture of locally produced or commissioned programming and acquired international content. The referenced description identifies a portfolio of 54 television channels in nine languages, along with additional licences. This breadth reflects the company's effort to serve communities that are internally diverse, including viewers associated with Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, and other language markets. Programming across the portfolio has included news, films, serials, music, religious material, lifestyle content, sports, and community-oriented shows. ATN also expanded through distribution agreements with foreign broadcasters. In Canada, it became the official distributor for services including India's ABP News and NDTV Good Times, Pakistan's ARY Qtv, and Bangladesh's Channel i. These arrangements complemented ATN's own Canadian services by giving audiences access to established broadcasters from South Asia while allowing ATN to participate in the Canadian distribution chain. Radio provided a further avenue for reaching South Asian audiences across North America. ATN-Asian Radio entered preview service on XM on September 24, 2007, and formally launched on XM Canada on October 29, 2007. The service offered talk and phone-in shows, music, poetry, news, current-affairs programming, and live cricket commentary. Although much of the talk programming was in English, the service also carried substantial Punjabi, Hindi, and other South Asian-language content. On April 18, 2008, it began broadcasting live Indian Premier League matches, adding a high-profile sports property to its radio schedule. The service remained associated with XM during the period when Canadian channels were being consolidated across the XM and Sirius platforms. In 2012, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission determined that the service had failed to play Canadian musical selections, leaving XM out of compliance with Canadian-content requirements. By 2014, ATN-Asian Radio had moved to SiriusXM channel 165 and was carried as part of the Multicultural Radio service, airing each evening and overnight in Eastern Time. SiriusXM removed ATN-Asian Radio from its lineup in January 2025; SiriusXM Canada launched its own Dhamaka South Asian music channel in March of that year. ATN's public profile has been closely connected to broadcaster Shan Chandrasekar, identified in the reference material as the company's head, and to Jaya Chandrasekar, who served as executive vice president and vice president of programming. Jaya Chandrasekar's induction into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2008 recognized her contribution to broadcasting. Shan Chandrasekar also participated as a speaker at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention in 2004. In 2011, ATN was ranked ninth in the Diversified Industries category of the TSX Venture 50. The company's development illustrates the role of specialized multicultural broadcasters in Canada's media system. Its strategy has combined ownership and operation of numerous language services, distribution of overseas channels, radio programming, and sports-rights activity. The available reference material does not provide a complete account of ATN's current channel-by-channel portfolio, financial performance, ownership structure, or corporate leadership beyond the named executives. Accordingly, those aspects should be verified against current corporate filings and Canadian regulatory records.

1. 2025ATN-Asian Radio leaves SiriusXM

   SiriusXM removes ATN-Asian Radio from its lineup in January; SiriusXM Canada launches the in-house Dhamaka service in March.

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2. 2014ATN-Asian Radio appears on SiriusXM channel 165

   The service is carried within SiriusXM's Multicultural Radio offering and broadcasts during evening and overnight hours.

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3. 2012Canadian-content compliance issue identified for ATN-Asian Radio

   The CRTC finds that ATN-Asian Radio had not played Canadian musical selections, affecting XM's compliance with Canadian-content requirements.

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4. 2011ATN ranks on the TSX Venture 50

   ATN is ranked ninth in the Diversified Industries category of the TSX Venture 50.

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5. 2008Jaya Chandrasekar inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame

   Jaya Chandrasekar, ATN's executive vice president and programming executive, is inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame.

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6. 2008ATN-Asian Radio adds live Indian Premier League coverage

   The radio service begins carrying live Indian Premier League matches under ATN's broadcasting-rights arrangements.

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7. 2007ATN-Asian Radio launches on XM Canada

   After a preview period beginning in September, ATN-Asian Radio formally launches on XM Canada in October.

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8. 2004Shan Chandrasekar speaks at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention

   ATN head Shan Chandrasekar participates as a speaker at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention.

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9. 1997Asian Television Network begins operating

   ATN begins operations in Canada as a broadcaster serving South Asian cultural and language communities.

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A specialist Canadian multicultural broadcaster serving South Asian language and cultural communities through a large portfolio of television services, international-channel distribution, radio programming, and selected sports rights.

• ATN Canadian television channel portfolioMulticultural television

  ATN's core offering is a broad group of Canadian television services aimed at South Asian cultural and linguistic communities. The referenced material describes 54 operating channels in nine languages, in addition to several further licences. The services cover a range of formats, including news, entertainment, film, music, religious programming, lifestyle content, sports, and community affairs. Their portfolio structure enables ATN to address distinct language audiences rather than relying on one pan-South-Asian channel.

• ATN foreign-channel distributionTelevision distribution

  ATN distributes selected overseas services to Canadian audiences. The referenced services include ABP News and NDTV Good Times from India, ARY Qtv from Pakistan, and Channel i from Bangladesh. This distribution activity complements ATN's own channels by bringing established South Asian broadcasters into the Canadian multicultural television market.

• ATN-Asian RadioSatellite radio2007

  ATN-Asian Radio was a South Asian satellite-radio service produced by ATN for North American audiences. Its schedule combined English-language talk with Punjabi, Hindi, and other South Asian-language programming, including music, poetry, news, current affairs, phone-in shows, cricket commentary, and live Indian Premier League matches. It launched on XM Canada in 2007, later appeared on SiriusXM channel 165, and was removed from the lineup in January 2025.

• 2014Move of ATN-Asian Radio into SiriusXM's Multicultural Radio offeringStrategy

  The service was affected by the evolving integration of XM and SiriusXM's Canadian channel lineups.

  What changed. By 2014, ATN-Asian Radio was carried on SiriusXM channel 165 as part of the Multicultural Radio service, with evening and overnight scheduling.

  Aftermath. The service remained available in the SiriusXM ecosystem until its removal in January 2025.

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• 2008Addition of Indian Premier League radio coverageProduct launch

  Cricket is a major interest among many South Asian audiences and a potentially important way to increase the relevance of ATN's radio service.

  What changed. ATN-Asian Radio began carrying live Indian Premier League matches on April 18, 2008, under ATN's broadcasting-rights arrangements.

  Aftermath. The move expanded the service beyond music and talk programming into live sports coverage.

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• 2007Launch of ATN-Asian Radio on XM CanadaProduct launch

  ATN sought to extend its South Asian programming model beyond television and reach listeners across Canada and the United States through satellite radio.

  What changed. The company previewed ATN-Asian Radio from September 24 and formally launched the service on XM Canada on October 29, 2007.

  Aftermath. The service later moved into SiriusXM's Multicultural Radio offering before being removed from the lineup in January 2025.

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• 2025ATN-Asian Radio removed from the SiriusXM lineup

  SiriusXM removed ATN-Asian Radio from its lineup in January 2025. SiriusXM Canada subsequently introduced Dhamaka, an in-house South Asian music service, in March 2025.

  OtherProduct generation
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• 2014ATN-Asian Radio moved to SiriusXM channel 165

  By 2014, the service had moved into SiriusXM's Multicultural Radio offering and was scheduled during evening and overnight hours.

  Other
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• 2012CRTC found ATN-Asian Radio's Canadian-music performance non-compliant

  The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission found that the channel had not played Canadian musical selections, creating a compliance issue for XM under Canadian-content rules.

  Regulation
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• 2008ATN-Asian Radio began carrying live Indian Premier League matches

  The radio service added live Indian Premier League coverage as part of ATN's broadcasting-rights arrangements.

  Product launchOther
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• 2007ATN-Asian Radio formally launched on XM Canada

  ATN's South Asian satellite-radio service completed its preview period and formally launched on XM Canada in October 2007.

  Product launch
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1. Asian Television Network