SAB TV adds another key 'Free-to-Air' market with San Francisco

Sony MSM Network is proud to announce the addition of San Francisco as the next key free-to-air territory for SAB TV through its tie-up with KFTL TV28. SAB TV will be available on Channel 28.10. SAB TV a 24/7 South Asian television channel in the United States and India’s premier family comedy channel is already available on channel 23.4 in USA’s largest Designated Market Area (DMA) of the New York metro area and channel 44.4 in the fifth largest DMA of Dallas/Fortworth, TX, with a combined reach of over 10 million households. San Francisco, USA’s sixth largest DMA adds another 1.7 million households including key ethnic groups in the Bay Area. This new digital initiative makes SAB TV the first free-to-air South Asian channel with the largest reach in North America. Viewers can now enjoy SAB TV programs for free within the NYC, DFW and the Bay Area areas with no monthly subscription or fees. To access this free-to-air channel, viewers in the coverage area will need a low-cost UHF antenna hooked to their television sets that are DTV-capable. UHF antennae are available at most electronic retail stores. SAB TV reinforces its brand message ‘Asli Mazaa SAB ke Saath Hai’ with a current programming line-up that includes a host of popular shows such as ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’’, ‘Baal Veer’, ‘Chidiya Ghar’, ‘Jeannie Aur Juju’, ‘Lapataganj’, ‘FIR’, “Pritam Pyaare Aur Woh, and other popular comedy shows. This light-hearted fare makes for an enjoyable family-viewing experience. KFTL’s General Manager, Ian Milne commented, “SAB TV is a strong addition to KFTL’s high quality line-up of programming reflecting the cultural diversity of the San Francisco / Oakland / San Jose community that we are so proud to serve.” Jaideep Janakiram, SVP International Business-Head of North America, said, “With the success of SAB TV’s free-to-air model in New York and Dallas and in line with our strategy to be a forerunner in distributing our programming to the widest audience possible, it gives us great pleasure to bring the best in entertainment – SAB TV to the people of San Francisco who reside in the KFTL coverage area and to local advertisers who can now target the expanding South Asian audience in these markets”. About Sony Entertainment Television Asia: Since its launch on the Indian subcontinent in 1995, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has enjoyed rapid success, leading to the establishment of European, North American and African feeds known as SET Asia. SET and SET Asia are now available in over 150 countries. The channels offer their viewers a distinctive blend of entertainment programs twenty four hours a day, including, soap operas, dramas, sitcoms, concerts, movies, and game shows. Besides SET Asia, SEN also has four other leading channels, as part of its bouquet: MAX, India’s #1 premier movies and special events channel, SAB, the only dedicated comedy channel, MIX, the recently launched Hindi Film Music channel and Aath, the only dedicated Bengali Movie channel. About KFTL: KFTL offers companies, media professionals, programmers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to lease digital broadcast spectrum on free-to-air Channel 28 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reaching over 5 million people and 1.7 million households, including key ethnic groups, KFTL leverages the power of free digital television to offer diverse programming to Bay Area viewers using nothing more than an inexpensive set-top antenna (such as “rabbit ears”), available online or at any electronics retailer.