iaTV Unveils Prime-Time Lineup

NEW YORK, June 24:
ImaginAsian TV (iaTV), a U.S.-based network dedicated to Asian pop culture,
will showcase a range of original comedy, reality, anime and mixed martial arts
programming in its 2008/09 prime-time schedule, including series and movies from
Sony and MGM, among others.

From Sony Pictures
Television, iaTV has acquired anime classics such as Cowboy Bebop, Metropolis and Final Fantasy VII,
along with Big Shot’s Funeral, Saving
Face, Wasabi and Black Mask 2: City of Masks. iaTV also secured the rights to Sony’s The
Minisode Network, which will be featured weekly in prime time, with bite-sized
versions of Charlie’s Angeles, Fantasy
Island, Starsky & Hutch and T.J. Hooker.

The network also has an
agreement with MGM for the series Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, along with movies such as Mississippi Masala, Golden Gate and Eat Drink Man Woman.

Bandai Entertainment will
provide iaTV with series such as Mai Hime, Ghost Slayers Ayashi,
The Great Horror Family and Bloodhound, among others. Meanwhile, RDF Media Group’s
Japanese game-show spoof Banzai is
also on the network’s slate.

Original comedy series for
iaTV include Uncle Morty’s Dub Shack and Comedy Zen. In
the reality genre, the network will feature The Popper, an original series, alongside Eye for a Guy and I Am a Model, which both join midseason. iaTV will also feature
the midseason launch of Docs Imported, a block dedicated to exploring Asia with documentaries such as Tokyo
Gigolos and The Ancient Tea
Road. Martial arts fare includes
the originals Chix Kix Flix and
Pancrase: Legends of Mixed Martial Arts, with original lifestyle programs iaLink, Pacific Fusion and iaRadio also slated to air.

Monday nights from 8 to 10
p.m., iaTV will feature a movie block, including films such as Marrying the
Mafia, Lost Memories and Saving Face, among others. Fridays from 9 to 11 p.m. will be
dubbed Retrofade Friday,
featuring cult classics and vintage retro hits.

“As the only network in
America for the exploding Asian pop-culture scene, iaTV is excited to be in
business with some of the top entertainment studios in the space,” said Adam
Ware, the president of the newly formed IA Media unit of ImaginAsian
Entertainment. “Our new season lineup is compelling on every night of the week
and features programming that appeals to fans of Asian pop culture, including
our core demo of Asian Americans.”

Ware continued, “Asian pop
culture represents a significant and influential part of the overall American
youth culture scene and has been a proven success on TV and film for years. New
Japanese-influenced game shows like Hole in the Wall on FOX
and Wipeout and I Survived a
Japanese Game Show on ABC provide
an affirmation of Asian pop culture as a mainstream success, at the core of
which lies the fastest growing, most upscale and tech-savvy demographic: Asian
Americans. Our new schedule is the first of many steps for iaTV as we build
America’s preeminent Asian pop culture media destination.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski