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by Duncan Mavin
The National Post
Dec 1, 2006
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ATN reckons there's a growing immigrant audience for a 24-hour channel dedicated to the Commonwealth's beloved game -- now it just has to convince advertisers
Most Canadians have never heard of international cricket stars such as Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq and England's Andrew Flintoff.
But management at Newmarket, Ont.-based Asian Television Network Limited (ATN) is hoping the popularity of cricket among some of the most rapidly expanding groups in Canada's population will boost viewership, and the company's profits.
Cricket gets scant coverage in Canada's mainstream media, but it is hugely popular around the world, especially in the Indian subcontinent. Meanwhile, the arrival of about 250,000 immigrants to Canada each year, many from South Asia, accounts for 70% of the country's annual population growth.
Some predictions suggest newcomers from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are set to become the biggest ethnic minority in Canada over the next 10 years. ATN is hoping it will become the main source for cricket on television here.
In fact, ATN is showing its commitment to the sport by launching a channel that will be dedicated to cricket 24-hours a day in early 2007, ahead of the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean in March and April next year.
ATN chief executive Shan Chandrasekar said the potential for cricket as a television spectator sport in Canada has reached "a critical mass," but he admits that getting advertisers can be difficult.
"In Canada, it's much easier to sell hockey, but cricket is something that not everybody understands," said Mr. Chandrasekar.
Currently, ATN is showing two high-profile cricket series, between Pakistan and the West Indies, and between England and Australia. During programming of each match -- five days of eight hours a day -- ATN is repeatedly showing one commercial from Royal Bank of Canada.
But with large-scale immigration likely to change viewing habits, ATN's cricket coverage should attract others to follow RBC's lead, said Richard Powers, a professor of sports marketing and assistant dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Mainstream advertisers, including other financial services companies, grocery chains and cell phone providers, will likely want to reach the same growing target market, he said. Indeed, Bank of Nova Scotia is already an official sponsor of the Cricket World Cup.
Twenty-four-hour cricket will be well received by Canada's South Asian and Caribbean populations that are passionate about cricket, said Kaan Yigit, president of Solutions Research Group, a communications consultancy.
Also, he said, niche channels such as ATN are expanding their influence in the media industry. "For the cable or satellite TV operator, it's about aggregating many small niches profitably now that all major categories are pretty well served," said Mr. Yigit. "We will see more [of these types of channels] targeting people's passions on cable and satellite as well as on broadband in the next few years," he said.
ATN operates 13 channels directed at Canada's South Asian community. The 25-year-old company, which trades on the TSX Venture Exchange, generated $5-million of revenue from subscribers in 2005, up from $2.7-million the previous year. Overall, earnings grew from $0.5-million in 2004 to $4-million last year.
Mr. Chandrasekar said his subscriber numbers get a boost from major cricket events such as the Ashes test series between England and Australia, taking place from now until January, and next years' World Cup -- the second most watched sporting event in the world after the soccer world cup.
The company does not release details of subscriber numbers, but Mr. Chandrasekar said ATN is hoping cricket will help get the network noticed by more than just the South Asian market.
"We strongly see potential for cricket in all Commonwealth communities.
"For people from England and Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and the Caribbean, cricket is a common denominator."
While all those different nationalities are not likely to subscribe to every South Asian channel ATN offers -- such as Bollywood movie channels -- "they'll all take our cricket channel," said Mr. Chandrasekar.
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