MNet Kpop in the U.S.: hitting the TV near you?

Sacramento Bee (California)

April 1, 2011 Friday

Comcast to add Mnet Asian culture network

BYLINE: SacBee

SECTION: B; Pg. 6

LENGTH: 155 words

DATELINE: April 1 2011

Los Angeles-based Mnet, which bills itself as the only 24/7 English- language, U.S. TV network targeting Asian Americans and fans of Asian pop culture, said Wednesday that it has an agreement with Comcast Corp. to launch in Sacramento and three other metro markets later this year.

Mnet said the deal calls for its network to be launched on the D1 digital tier locally and in San Francisco, Chicago and Boston by Sept. 1.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We applaud Comcast's clear commitment to the Asian American community and are thrilled that they chose Mnet as the network to serve their subscribers in these strategic markets. We look forward to working closely with its local systems to bring the Mnet brand to the widest possible audience," said Adam Ware, Mnet's president and CEO.  Mnet programming covers a broad spectrum, including popular music, anime, drama/horror, food and celebrity interviews.

– Mark Glover

Just wanted to point out this article I read. Interesting new bit of news for American Kpop fans in some cities. It doesn't list Philadelphia yet, but we'll see if it continues to other cities. Additionally, you'll notice that Mnet has a location in LA. As does SBS (one of the three major networks in Korea). JYP has a headquarters in America. So does SM. Just something to think about. 


Hopefully you recognize MNet, which is a cable television channel that housed the powerhouse variety show "Superstar K" and also has a "Mnet countdown" where singers come perform. 


Some people are criticized (if that is the right word) that it is focusing all on popular culture only. As far as we know, they won't be covering anything political or cultural and therefore some people are unimpressed that it is only focused on pop culture. Is pop culture a way to spread (in this case) Korean culture? This is a topic we have talked about in class. Will it focus only on the extreme cases of Kpop and give a limited view on pop culture in Korea?