Turner pulls plug on Indian channel Imagine TV

Business operations of the Hindi general entertainment channel Imagine TV and international feed Imagine Dil Se have been wound up with immediate effect, following a shock announcement by operator Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific.

According to Desi-radio.com the channel will be populated with repeat shows from 13 April, until official obligations end and it can cease transmissions completely.

Imagine TV has struggled in the battle for viewers in India’s hotly competitive Hindi general entertainment space.

Siddharth Jain, managing director – South Asia, Turner International India said: “Imagine TV has not performed and grown as per expectations. While some programmes delivered satisfactory ratings, overall the channel was unable to achieve the ratings 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’’.

Imagine was launched by previous owners NDTV in January 2008. Turner subsidiary Turner Asia Pacific Ventures acquired a 92 percent stake in NDTV Imagine in December 2009, before taking full control of the channel in February 2010.

Turner will continue to operate HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, POGO, WB, TCM and Boomerang in India.