Cartoon Network Asia returns

The on going Cartoon Network saga underwent another surprising turn with the return of Cartoon Network Asia to Dialog TV. This decision was taken most likely after several complaints were raised regarding the Indianised nature of Cartoon Network India which consists of Indian accent English, Hindi toons, etc.

This means that parents can now rest easy, however it seems that the Toonami channel is still running the Indian feed. So far the channel telecasts non-Indianised content which however will change very soon. Dialog will have to take steps to switch it to Toonami Asia. The other two channels of concern as Pogo & Nick channels which mostly telecast Hindi language programmes. Dialog should take steps to switch Pogo with Boomerang Asia & Nick India with Nick Asia takes steps to switch Disney Junior India with Disney Junior Asia or Disney Channel Asia.

With the impending entry of serious competition, Dialog should do these changes to differentiate themselves from competition. The switching of all kids channels to an Asian feed will keep them ahead of the competition.

A move towards Asian feeds, Syfy....

So are we seeing a move away from Indian feeds at Dialog TV? Seems so at least where available, with the decision of Dialog TV to replace Fox Crime India with Syfy Asia.

To be fair it should be stated that Fox Crime India is closing down over this weekend, for some Dialog is citing a withdrawal of South Asian rights as the reason however reports coming out of India suggest otherwise.

Some would  have thought that Dialog TV will revert back to Fox Crime Asia, however the recent "regional rights" issues by Fox International Channels means that Dialog TV would like to steer clear from channels operated by Fox.

Universal operated Syfy, Diva, Universal & E do not have any Indian counterparts, so there is no regional issue when it comes to them.

Syfy will be added either tomorrow or the day after (18th/19th) when Fox Crime ceases transmissions. Syfy judging by programming content doesn't seem to have great programming but have been improving with their content.

It seems that on Sony operated AXN, Warner TV & Universal have understood that Indian feeds don't work in Sri Lanka. AXN in spite of having an Indian feed continues to provide the Asian feed to Sri Lanka, the same can be said of Warner TV, Universal doesn't have any Indian feeds as yet. This is a good thing unlike Star India which is trying to trap Indian feeds to Sri Lanka.

However when it comes to cartoon channels we saw Asian feeds of Cartoon Network & Toonami being replaced by Indian feeds. This might be a blessing in disguise since the channels would be more adapted to the cultural norms in this region.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

Celestial Classic Movies & Fox Crime

So with effect from yesterday Celestial Classic Movies seems to be officially launched on Dialog TV, since it is no longer on "Test" mode. It's clear that Dialog is targeting the expatriate community with channel. It's got English subtitles so no need to learn the language.

The package allocations for this channel aren't clear as yet. In other news Fox Crime India is closing down on April 19th. Dialog could revert back to the Asian feed but taking into consideration how Fox International Channels treat pay television markets like Sri Lanka, it's more or less unlikely. FX India could be a probable replacement but expect more blocks on programming.

With Star India launching two channels called FX HD & Star Movies Select HD, it seems unlikely that any of those channels will be available in Sri Lanka.

Dialog TV testing "Celestial Classic Movies"

Dialog started testing "Celestial Classic Movies" with effect from yesterday, the channel which telecasts mainly classical movies of Chinese, Japanese & Korean origin. The channel runs movies with English subtitles.

It's hard to understand why Dialog added a channel such as this, the market for this type of channel is not clear as yet. Whether the channel will move past the testing phase & be added to the platform is yet to be seen.

At the moment this channel looks to be on course for failing on Dialog TV unless they are planning to lure expatriates from that region who are residing in Sri Lanka.

However what most of us here want to see is a channel with similar content to Star Movies such as Fox Movies Premium on the platform.

Web Site: Celestial Classic Movies - www.cmclassic.tv/