Launched June 24, 2005 Country Pakistan Headquarters Islamabad | Picture format 4:3 (576i, SDTV) Language Urdu Founded 2005 | |
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Owned by Shalimar Recording & Broadcasting Co. Ltd. Broadcast area South Asia, Middle East TV shows A Morning with Farah, Love, Life Aur Lahore, Sukhaan | ||
ATV is the largest privately operated terrestrial television network in Pakistan; the channel has the second largest national viewership base in the country only behind PTV Home. The channel was launched on May 1, 2005.
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Channel profile
The channel is a joint venture of Shalimar Recording and Broadcasting Company(Shalimar TV Network/STN) and Sports Star International. STN which had its only transmitting station at Islamabad in 1990 now operates with 20 stations covering all major cities and commercial centres of Pakistan.
The ATV stations are located at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Daska, Multan, Bahawalpur, Larkana, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Mingora, Qalat, Batkhaila, Khuzdar, Thandyani, Sahiwal, Sibi, Quetta and Tando Allahyar covering over 50% of the population.
ATV today is a symbol of quality television entertainment in Pakistan. With its reach and impact ATV has forward looking vision that draws strength from the rich religious and cultural traditions of the land. ATV's role during and after the traumatic Earth Quake experience in 2005 in Pakistan was widely appreciated at home and abroad.
All the capital and running expenses of the company are met from its own resources. No government grant, budgetary allocation or subsidy is given.
ATV's drama, music, fashion, showbiz, current affairs and agriculture programs are designed to cater to the varying entertainment taste buds and information needs of its esteemed viewers.
Programming
The program mix of ATV includes entertainment (40%), information (37%) and education (23%).
A-News
The channel has launched its daily main news bulletin at 8:55 PM and 10 minutes news bulletins every hour on-the-hour.
Availability
ATV is available throughout Pakistan, terrestrially (on antenna) and in 86 countries of the world through PakSat 1R. ATV can be viewed online at ATV website.
Network expansion
In 2010, ATV developed its network by launching the test transmission of Pakistan's first women channel, ALite. On 3 April 2010, ATV organized the launch show of APLUS. On 24 June 2010, ATV celebrated its 5th anniversary and put ALite (that was previously put off air), and APLUS, on test run. Both upcoming channels are satellite channels, and can be viewed locally and internationally.