CNN International, which lags far behind other international news channels like CNBC and the BBC World in India, aims to expand its coverage of the subcontinent, Anshuman Mishra, managing director of Turner International India, has said.

He made his comments while attending the ‘Eureka 2001‘ awards ceremony in Mumbai on Monday organised by the Entrepreneurship Cell of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, in association with CNN and Avendus.

Responding to queries on why the ratings of CNN had failed to pick up in comparison to CNBC and BBC, he said he had yet to go through the details of the rating. "But we are working to built the Indian content. Other channels like TCM Cartoon Network are doing well," Mishra said, indicating that at this juncture the ratings issue was no paramount to CNN‘s opeartions.

Ranjita Menon, marketing communication manager, South Asia, while echoing Mishra on the rartings issue, said shows like Q & A at prime time were doing extremely well. "We get responses from all parts India. The special show for the Gujarat earthquake was well received. Other India related programes like CNN India dotcom and Style South Asia are also doing well. We are looking forward to more India related programmes," Menon said.

On the issue of outsourcing of content from Indian producers like Bharat Bala Productions, Menon said that for now they were providing fillers only.

"We reach around 5 million homes in India, while we are the leader in Asia", Menon said. Quoting figures from The Asian Target Market Survey 2000 (ATMS) conducted by AC Nielsen, Menon said CNN International reaches 38 per cent of upscale business people in Asia on a monthly basis compared to CNBC‘s 20 per cent and BBC World‘s 19 per cent.

The association with Eureka 2001 is the first major on-ground initiative by CNN in India. "We are looking forward to supporting budding entrepreneurs in India. These awards are just one step in that direction. The winners will be taken to Silicon Vally where they will actually be presenting their products to prospective investors," Menon said.

Asia‘s first and only all-action and adventure channel, AXN Asia, has fortified its sales team in Asia with the appointments of account manager, Reon Wong in Hong Kong and sales manager, Morris Huang in Taiwan.

Reon is a new addition to AXN‘s regional ad sales team. She is responsible for regional accounts out of Hong Kong and the Philippines.

She joins the sales team from Columbia Tristar Film Distributors International (CFTDI) where she worked closely with CFTDI‘s Regional Marketing Director executing regional marketing activity.

Morris will work with Steven Tsou, AXN Taiwan‘s associate director, sales & marketing to manage AXN‘s sales team in Taiwan.

 new media publishing group has been formed in Hong Kong. Called Media Partners Asia Limited (MPA), it will provide coverage of the media and communications industries in Asia. MPA has announced that it will launch a biweekly publication in April, followed by a quarterly journal and annual industry reportsThe company will also offer consulting services and organize conferences to meet the strategic goals of global business communities.

MPA has been founded by Vivek Couto and Rupert Wilkinson, former senior executives at Kagan Asia Media (KAM), an affiliate of global media research and publishing company Paul Kagan Associates. Couto and Wilkinson successfully built ventures in publishing (Asia Cable & Satellite World, Asia Broadband Technology, Asia Pacific Media Investor) and research (The Casbaa & Kam Asia Cable & Satellite Guide).

"We‘re in the business of creating media value. Media Partners Asia is well positioned to create properties that build on the legacy of Kagan Asia Media," says a joint statement issued by Vivek Couto and Rupert Wilkinson. "Our mission is to serve global business communities with a variety of content platforms focusing on Asia media development."