Late last week, Comcast announced that it would be pulling the plug on AZN Television, "The Network for Asian America."
The news broke relatively quietly, without too much publicity or outcry. It's not like the the network had legions of fans at this point. It never did, which was probably a large part of reason why it was so hard to attract advertisers in the first place. Still, the Asian American Journalists Association issued this press release expressing its disappointment with this development: Decision to Shut Down AZN Television a Huge Loss to Asian American Community
Jeff Yang's latest "Asian Pop" column delves into the behind-the-scenes details of AZN's demise: The AZend.
In the end, it's pretty unfortunate news all around. While I can't say I was ever a huge fan of AZN's programming (or its hideous name), I was always glad it was around providing an additional broadcast voice for Asian Americans. Or at least trying to, for better or for worse. Now, after this and last year's demise of the MTV World channels, it appears that ImagiAsian remains the last network standing.
Interestingly enough, in its story about AZN's shutdown, the Hollywood Reporter mentions that although the network is getting cut, the Asian Excellence Awards show will still be happening this year as planned. Comcast will be moving the show to the E! Entertainment channel, which means a lot of people will be able to see it... if they still care.
*
