ARY Television Network is subsidiary of the ARY Group. The ARY Group of companies is a Dubai-based holding company founded by a Pakistani businessman, Haji Abdul Razzak Yaqoob (ARY). The channels owned or affiliated with ARY Television Network include: • ARY Digital - Infotainment and Sports • ARY One World - 24 hour independent news • The Musik - 24 hour music • Q tv - Quran TV, religious content • ARY Bangla • Fashion TV Pakistan • DESH • HBO Pakistan • VH1 Pakistan ARY News website is updated round the clock on various issues around the globe with focus on Pakistan including politics, economy and entertainment. This is the sister project of ARY One World news classified under various sections including Pakistan, World, Business, Sport and Entertainment. The website always features a quick poll on burning issues of immediate nature. Also, the website invites its visitors to express their sentiments on various topics set from time to time covering issues that interests all. The website has especially been tailor-made for people interested in Pakistan. The visitors can watch live ARY One World news channel at the site. The website covers day to day core issues in pictures as well to keep its esteemed visitors updated on nearly all issues of the day. In addition, at least three to four most recent on demand bulletins can be watched online. ARY One World is a specialized 24/7 news and current affairs channel. ARY One World draws its strength from its wide network of around 700 correspondents and broadcast journalists around the globe. We have access to an extensive pool of exclusive footage and information, and rich archive library, and a team of renowned and award-winning news-casters and anchors specializing in various beats of journalism. ARY One World is committed to provide its viewers all the news as it happens and in-depth analysis and live discussions on hottest issues of out time. In addition to the news coverage and updates by the hour, ARY One World offers programming filled with insights on topics ranging from politics, business and finance, and fashion and entertainment. The network is available in Pakistan, the Middle East, North America, Europe and Australia. The network caters to the needs of South Asians, particularly the Pakistani diaspora. The channel is considered pioneer in Pakistani media and broadcasting and has an expanding network of channels, each with an independent focus. ARY Digital, formerly the “Pakistani Channel” was launched in the United Kingdom in December 2000 to cater to the growing demands of South Asian entertainment in the region. Within a short span, the unique proposition and the content of the channel resulted in massive popularity and, in order to enable greater expansion and broadcast into other countries, the operations were moved to Dubai Media City. This one-screen TV business grew into a network of channels beaming into over 130 countries. The network, at present, undoubtedly stands as one of the fastest growing Asian television networks in the world at the current moment. The network started to commit itself to the continuous development of Pakistan’s media market. The network now boasts a potential market size of more than 20 million households. The ARY Group, owners of the network, announced the launch of the ARY Digital Tower, one of the tallest media buildings in the UAE. The project is to stand a mammoth 44- to 45-storey broadcasting tower that will house the studios and corporate-head office of all the network’s operations. Construction of the tower, overseen by esteemed Adnan Z. Saffarini of Dimensions Engineering Consultants, is expected to end by this year. ARY Digital pioneered and set standards in television programming in Pakistan and all over the world. In 2002, The ARY Star Gold Quiz Show set new standards in the game-show broadcast history being the first live show ever offering a hefty prize of one kilogram of gold. For the period of its transmission, participants won over 260 kilograms of gold. Undoubtedly the highest stakes of any game-show in the history of South Asian Television. Partly due to the ban on Indian channels around the time, helped the channel grow popular by the day. The network in 2005 obtained the rights to show Live 8 on its sister music channel, The Musik. ARY Digital started off with a format more closely resembling that of PTV Prime and other Indian channels where it provided slots for soaps in general while presenting an hourly slot for news headlines. Although, flaming political talk shows and dramas were the main priority when it came to programming, the network soon was hailed for its news coverage. Qatar-based Al Jazeera was enjoying its fifteen minutes of fame that rooted its name prominently in the events folding after the 9/11 attacks but when the war on terror came to neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan had no decent coverage and the likes of PTV hired people without prior knowledge of journalism to be investigative journalists. There was a limit as to how much PTV could show on their network. Soon enough, when ARY Digital started broadcasting news covering the Afghan war, ARY Digital was hailed for their efforts. As most of the network's programming is acquired through private production houses from within Pakistan and some based in UAE, where people aren't that much in verse with the latest trends in distribution and quality, the network began to be criticised. This led the network to segment its programming into specialised channels whereby, for instance, having a dedicated channel for news coverage where they excelled leaving behind areas that needed dire attention on the flagship channel. At the time of writing, the network has four different coverage areas around the world: ARY Digital Asia, ARY Digital Middle East, ARY Digital UK/Europe and ARY Digital USA beamed at from the UAE. Recently ARY Digital has affiliated with several other television networks to promote their content in Pakistan. Amongst these are Fashion TV for which a regional channel FTV Pakistan has been airing since December 2005 on the ARY Digital network. Plans are under way for Al Jazeera Urdu in affiliation with Al Jazeera targeting 110 million Urdu-speaking households worldwide and HBO Pakistan in association with HBO's south-Asian division. With the network's help, Nickelodeon is also planning to kick-start its operations in Nick Pakistan where it would be beamed into 2.5 million households with kids. With so much international diversity under the network's belt,MR Salman Iqbal, the global CEO and president of ARY Digital network feels confident that the network is bringing international quality to Pakistan's growing market.