 | |
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 576i |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner) |
| Parent | Turner Asia Pacific Ventures |
| Sister channels | Lumiere Movies |
| History | |
| Launched | 21 January 2008; 17 years ago (2008-01-21) |
| Closed | 11 May 2012; 13 years ago (2012-05-11) |
| Former names | NDTV Imagine(21 January 2008 – 7 March 2010) |
Imagine TV was aHindi general entertainment channel owned byTurner Broadcasting System, and based inNew Delhi.
The channel was known for shows such asRamayan (2008),Chandragupta Maurya,Swayamvar,Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo,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,Mata Ki Chowki,Meera andLooteri Dulhan.
The channel was established byNDTV Group under the stewardship of formerSTAR India CEOSameer Nair. The channel was launched in India on 21 January 2008 as NDTV Imagine. Imagine TV tied up withKaran Johar, the creative consultant and ambassador of the Imagine TV brand. The channel was originally launched by NDTV in partnership withNBCUniversal but NBCUniversal left the partnership in October 2009.[1][2]
In December 2009, online and mobile video serviceNyooTV agreed a deal with NDTV Imagine to distribute ongoing and past TV shows on the platform.[3]
On 8 December 2009, it was announced that Turner Asia Pacific Ventures (a wholly owned subsidiary ofTurner 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 theTime 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 toReliance Broadcast Network.
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]
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 launchedLife OK. The channel faced the same fate for its sister channelReal.[6][7][8][9]Although all of its business operations will close with immediate effect, the channel will continue to airreruns from 13 April, until official obligations ended and it could cease transmissions completely.[10]
Imagine TV shut down by 12 May 2012 in India, with the channel removed from all operators.[9][11] Imagine TV's website was also closed and all episodes and promos were deleted from its YouTube channel.[citation needed]
In the Middle East Imagine closed on 30 May 2012, when the channel was replaced byImagine Movies. The UK and Irish feed of Imagine Dil Se closed on 6 July 2012.[12] The channel's Sky EPG slot was purchased by Viacom 18 to launchRishtey, a free-to-air sister channel forColors TV.[13]
In the UK and Ireland, Imagine TV is broadcast on theSky platform, where it isfree-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.[14] The feed proved to be a success, beating Star Plus in the UK ratings to become the most watched Asian channel.[15]
From 4 February 2009 Imagine was available in the US on theDish Network platform. Imagine was also available free-to-air onNilesat in the Middle East. In November 2009, NDTV Imagine launched in Canada in partnership with Canadian broadcaster Ethnic Channels Group and is available onBell 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.
| Broadcasting and FAST streaming group |
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| The Cartoon Network, Inc. |
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| Lifestyle & Factual Group |
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| Defunct and former ventures |
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