Comcast Revives Asian TV with Mnet
Once upon a time, Comcast created a channel dedicated to Asian entertainment. They called it AZN Television, & among other programming, it was a good place to catch some anime that you couldn't see elsewhere. But then in 2008 they inexplicably pulled the plug on the entire channel, putting an end to the only Asian network on American TV. They claimed it was due to low viewership & trouble gaining advertisers. Which only makes things more confusing now that Comcast has announced they're launching a brand new Asian network- Mnet.
Mnet describes itself as being “the only 24/7 English-language nationwide television network in the U.S. targeting Asian Americans and fans of Asian pop culture,” a description that has a familiar ring to it. They’ve been trying to get off the ground for awhile, & have most recently struck a deal with Comcast to be launched in nine major markets by September 1, including Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, & Sacramento. Depending on how well Mnet performs there, it could spread to other Comcast markets as well.
Of course Mnet couldn’t call themselves an Asian channel without some anime! In fact they have a deal with Bandai to run the “Bandai Entertainment Block” during the night. There they’ll show such series as Eureka Seven, Fantastic Children, & live-action programming like the Great Horror Family. So if you live in one of those select markets, then you’ll have some great programming to watch come this Fall, as the spiritual successor to AZN begins to unfold.
Press Release: http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20110330006338/en