Asia-Pacific's elite class of people have given the thumbs up to
Discovery Channel, according to the Pan Asia Cross Media Survey (PAX)
conducted by Asia Market Intelligence (AMI) recently across eight of the
region's biggest markets.
The study found that among affluent adults, almost 2.2 million stated
they had watched a Discovery Channel programme in the past seven
days.
Coming a distant second and third were HBO and National Geographic, at
1.68 million and 1.67 million respectively.
Discovery Channel was also the most popular among business decision
makers, with more than 722,000 saying they had tuned into the channel's
programming in the past seven days.
CNN and MTV followed at 567,000 and 521,000 respectively.
Other channels that were also rated highly were BBC World and ESPN.
Overall, PAX found that cable and satellite viewership in the region was
generally higher compared with 1999, reflecting the fact that more homes
and businesses in the region have been wired to receive programming from
cab/sat operators.
In some cases though - in India and Taiwan - penetration was at almost
100 per cent.
The eight markets surveyed consisted of Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta,
Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila, Taipei and the Indian cities of Mumbai,
Bangalore and Delhi.
The penetration of cable and satellite television across the eight
markets continues to edge higher, and the PAX research shows the rate
fast approaching the 70 per cent mark.
Business decision makers and affluent adults make up four per cent and
14 per cent respectively of the total population of the markets
surveyed.
While the proportional respresentation appears small, they are perceived
as being Asia's most influential class of people.
