Sony to Launch TV Channel in Asia

Sony Pictures Entertainment will begin a new 24-hour television channel in Asia dedicated to action and adventure entertainment.

AXN will be available next month and will be the only channel in Asia concentrating on the genre, which will include feature films, series and extreme sports, the company said.

Culver City-based Sony has recently invested in a number of channels and alliances in global television, including the 1995 debuts of Sony Entertainment Television in Latin America and India.

The station, to be based in Singapore, will show American and Asian movies as well as Asian series and animation, local sports and live-action game programming.

Separately, Universal Studios plans to launch an action and suspense channel in France in November, with expansion to Germany and Spain in 1998. The channel will be Universal’s first international service.