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While the fragmentation of the TV media may be causing ITV some serious headaches, the opening up of multichannel TV and the penetration of cable and satellite services have created a wealth of opportunity for channels targeting a range of ethnic groups. Specifically, south Asians have been identified as a lucrative and demanding audience by a range of channels which both target the group on a global basis, as well as more specifically aim to service a UK audience.

The biggest player in the field, unsurprisingly, is News Corporation's Star Network. Star has a massive presence globally and announced a ground-breaking deal earlier this month to broadcast on a Chinese platform for the first time.

Star came to the UK market nine months ago with the launch of Star News and Star Plus. With UK-wide coverage through the Sky Digital platform, it also has plans in the pipeline to broaden distribution channels through new media and is working on several interactive projects.

Based on a subscription and ad revenue model, Star's portfolio of clients includes mainstream consumer brands like Mars, Kellogg's and Jaguar Cars, along with the Central Office of Information and a portfolio of Asian advertisers, including Pride, TRS, Rubicon and NATCO.

"We see this growing as more big-name advertisers begin to appreciate the spending power of the whole of the Asian community in the UK," says Nick Thind, head of advertising sales across the two Star brands.

"The fact that Star News and Star Plus are the main channels of communication to the whole of the Asian viewing population is demonstrated in our sustained subscription growth.

"Star's USP is the quality of its programming, since it is Asia's leading satellite network, reaching 300 million viewers in seven languages across 53 countries. Star Plus is now India's number one broadcaster, and, by launching into the UK market now, we are replicating its success over here."

But Star is not alone and a number of brands targeting south Asians more or less specifically have been ploughing their course for some time. Gerry Zierler, managing director of sales house Zierler Media, manages sales for a number of brands, including AsiaNet and Sony Entertainment Television Asia. He believes the increasing
realization that a vibrant audience exists for a range of niche content in this market means that agencies are starting, more than ever, to sit up and take note.

"It's a question of education and evolution," he says. "Certainly, the meetings with agencies get easier, but it's still often more effective to go direct to clients. And one of the most important things to remember is that Asians control between 70% and 80% of all independent retail outlets in the UK, so for retail clients it can be cheaper to use channels like Sony ETA and AsiaNet than running a trade press campaign."

US-owned AsiaNet is a 24-hour digital channel targeting south Asians in Britain, broadcasting Bollywood movies, live shows, music, drama, news and a range of programming in regional languages. It reaches more than 350,000 homes, while Sony ETA, which carries both UK-
commissioned and south Asian movies, reaches more than 70,000 across cable and satellite.

The beauty of the multi-channel world, of course, is that services can effectively reach niche audiences clustered in groups across the UK.

Reminiscent Television Network takes the range of programming options available to south Asian audiences a step further, offering a range of six channels; one each targeting Bengali (Bangla TV), Tamil (Cee1 TV), Punjabi (Lashkara), Gujarati (Gurjari), Urdu (Anjuman) and Hindi (Asia 1).

All six broadcast on Sky Digital, while a seventh channel from the stable, MATV, claims to be the UK's only terrestrial south Asian channel, broadcasting locally in Leicester. Targeting regional language-speakers specifically, Reminiscent is very clear that its offering to
customers - and so to clients - is about keeping UK audiences connected to their heritage.

"Reminiscent has embarked on a journey to take all Asians across the world on a trip back to their homelands through a network of channels that cater for every taste, culture and language," says a spokesman for the company. Meanwhile, Zee TV is another brand with an international network of channels and a strong presence in the UK. Reaching 200 million viewers worldwide, and having a 38% share of the Indian audience, puts the channel in a strong position to extend its brand equity to UK Asians.

Zee began operating on Sky in the UK in 1995 and was launched in a digital format last year across satellite and cable. The UK operation also provides the base for a number of forays into European markets, including Germany, Holland and Portugal. In the past year, the Zee brand extended into music with Music Asia, the UK's first 24-hour Asian music channel, aimed at reaching second and third-generation British-Asians.

The brand has also leveraged benefit from extending into events to add value to its pay market subscribers, over and above ordinary subscribers.

But the dynamism of the general entertainment genre doesn't mean there isn't room for more specialist channels. Al Jazeera, the world's leading Arabic TV channel, recently relaunched its free-to-air rolling news service on Sky Digital, allowing UK Arabic speakers direct access from a UK platform for the first time.

"Al Jazeera has hundreds of thousands of fans in the UK," London bureau chief executive Muftah Al Suwaidan says. "The channel's move onto the Sky Digital platform will enable even more members of the Arabic communities in  the UK to switch on to news and current affairs."

News is clearly a major draw for ethnic communities in the UK and Star News' decision to unencrypt areas of its news service in light of the heightened global tensions of the last few weeks proves the value of access to an international infrastructure, which can target UK
consumers but connect them directly back into countries of origin.