Citing low viewership, cable operator Comcast has pulled the plug on iaTV, formerly ImaginAsian TV, in San Francisco as of July 22.
The Asian American network will still be carried on cable systems across the U.S. including New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas and Hawai‘i.
Though Comcast decided to stop airing the Asian American network in June, IA MEDIA President Adam Ware said they were not involved in its deliberations and were given only 24 hours before the station was pulled from San Francisco.
While Comcast said there are currently no plans to bring back ia TV to the San Francisco region, Ware says there is an “absolute need” for their station especially in San Francisco where there is a high Asian American population.
Ware said statistics show that the primary language of an overwhelming majority of Asians in America is not their native language but English.
“Stations like KTSF do a disservice to the Asian American market as they niche Asian communities and then pitch programming in their languages - to me that’s horribly uninspired,” said Ware. “I am a firm believer that there is room for an English Asian pop culture channel.”
iaTV was only aired part time in the San Francisco region. In other markets, it aired 24 hours a day.
“It was great that Comcast aired the channel on a part time basis, but that was not the best use of their spectrum nor the best way to represent the channel,” said Ware.
Earlier this year Comcast also decided to pull the plug on AZN Television, due to the Asian American network’s difficulty attracting advertisers.
“[iaTV] was one of the least accessed channels in the San Francisco,” said Andrew Johnson, vice president of communications for Comcast in California. “Customer service surveys continually showed low interest for this station.”
The fact that there are so many other alternatives available and much more highly requested in-language programs contributed to the decision, according to Johnson. He added that there would not be a void on the dial for the type of programming ia TV offered.
“For our viewers in the city, there are 17 other alternatives that cater to the Asian community,” he said, citing such examples as the Asian channel KTSF, TFC for Filipinos and KICU on digital sub channel 36-2 that offers Korean-language programming from the Korean Broadcasting System.
For San Francisco resident Rene Del Prado, who watches iaTV at least 3 days a week, the decision to pull ia TV is a “slap in the face to the Asian American community.”
“First AZN TV, now iaTV, I’m outraged,” said Del Prado, a Filipino American who loves watching Korean dramas and Monday night movies on the station. “Watching these programs made me more aware and in touch with my Asian American heritage.”