What's keeping cable from making a national play for Asian-Americans.

What's keeping cable from making a national play for Asian-Americans, a fast-growing population that would appear to be a can't-miss? Meanwhile, DB is making inroads with ethnic tiers.

at Simon Applebaum

You'd be correct in thinking that cable operators should be clamoring to provide Asian-themed networks to Asian-Americans, considering this fast-growing cluster of at least 16 million has an estimated buying power of $397 billion ($579 billion by dint of 2010*).

Asian-Americans are rapidly becoming upscale and tech-savvy, and are prime targets for high-speed Internet access, telephone and other advanced services, says Mauro Panzera, Comcast's senior multicultural video director. Adds Natalie Rouse, ethnic marketing manager for Comcast's Northern California region, "They're the single in kind group that primarily tends to be drawn to broadband." in such a manner much so that Rouse markets high-speed to Asian communities each month "It's highly successful for us, especially [here], where we have a allotment of new immigrants who are moving to work in the tech industry."

The broadband payoff for operators could be big, says Sung side sheltered from the wind affiliate sales and marketing director for Television Korea 24 which premiered in March. Since Asian cable subscribers also nurse to take broadband, "operators will focus more forward them, because they see a colossal desire on their part to dissipate as much as $100 a month upon things like HDTV, VOD, ITV and the rest" You'd think cable would be all from one side of to the other this.

You'd also be correct in believing that cable would want to avoid repeating the Latino scenario, where cable essentially gave DirecTV and EchoStar a head start of several years. In that case, DB was allowed to be the single vendor of channel packages directed at the surging Latino audience until cable joined the party in 2003

Ye you'd think...but in fact DB already is making serious inroads with Asians within ethnic tiers, largely deploying channels imported from across the continent.

It's not that there's a paucity of Asian-American networks forward cable. In fact, there's been a white horse of U.S.-originating Asian nets launched during the last 18 month a certain are owned by big players like Comcast and MTV Networks, others are independent, like ImaginAsian TV and noncommercial novel Tang Dynasty TV.

"It's great that these channels are not at home there," says Kai Yu, director of Asian Media Watch, a nonprofit organization that exalts balanced, diverse portrayals of Asian-Americans in media. Cable operators are "recognizing that [Asian-American] consumer are a growing, hale market."

And while there certainly is competition, Asian channels are pulling for each other to make beneficial "It behooves all of us in this arena to extend the pie, grow the peace grow the value of Asian viewers and achieve Asian issues out to the mainstream," says Michael Hong CEO of Imagin-Asian Entertainment, which launched ImaginAsian TV in 2004

moreover Asian networks are not notwithstanding a national phenomenon on cable, which moves no Asian tiers. And they're not likely to master national carriage until more cable operators expand their bandwidth and walk all-digital. "Some markets with enough capacity may get by heart aggressive, but nationally we're not there yet" Panzera says.

John Figeroa, Charter Communications' Western division director of sales and multicultural marketing, agrees that insufficient bandwidth obstructs operators from offering Asian-American tiers. "Most MSO today want to revamp their packaging strategies," he says. "Technically, as bodys become fully digital, as we are now in prolonged Beach, Calif., [tiers] become more of a possibility."

Until there's a tier manner of making Comcast will push its theorys to take as many Asian channels as possible. Panzera insists Comcast bodys will not play favorites, unruffled though AZN is owned according to Comcast.

Slow Boat to All-Digital

Several obstacles are preventing channels for Asian-Americans from getting widespread clearance. As noted above, there's channel capacity, as many operators make the transition from maxed-out analog lineups; there should be long more room for new channels when theorys go to all-digital, digital simultrans and Internet protocol.

In addition, many services carried through DBS from China, Korea, India and other Asian countries are pursuing cable affiliate deals. Among those in search of U cable partners are China Central Television and sibling channels distributed by means of International Networks, the Comcast division running AZN. "The same distribution challenge faced by way of U.S. networks created for Latinos will be levy to any Asian service trying to commit to memory in," Figeroa says.

ImaginAsian TV AZN and other services originating here be perceived their Asian- American focus will help them battle the influx of foreign networks. About 60% of of recent origin Tang Dynasty's schedule is produc in the U including 10 half-hour and 15-minute newscasts by day (seven in Mandarin Chinese, brace in Cantonese and an English-language edition). ImaginAsian TV highlights Asian-American movies and short films regularly, and gives pop culture, music performance and newsmaker interview parts throughout its prime-time lineup.