(30 June 2007 9:00 pm)

MUMBAI: TinselVision(TV), a broadband Internet, video-on-demand (VoD) service targeting South Asian communities in the US, UK and Canada has secured $3 million in Series A financing led by Innovative Entertainment Limited (IEL).

The firm launches later this year.

IEL president Shahid Khan says, "We are very excited to lead the Series A investment in TinselVision (TV). TV is an early and differentiated mover in this segment. With a battle-tested management team and seasoned financial talents, this investment is poised to be one of the big winners in the shifting contests for South Asian viewing audiences globally. We plan to be there with the growth capital required to make it happen."

In conjunction with Series A funding, Tinsel has assembled world-class boards of directors and advisors which include a who's who in television, film, distribution, finance and production. The company will announce final appointments to these boards in June.

Tinsel Cinema chairman and CEO Chase Weir says, "When you combine deep pockets with broad experience and relationships in the right place at the right time, you have good reason to be excited.

"We have a $1 billion plus, un-served and underserved, addressable market. Now, we have premium content licenses in place. And, we have and continue to attract the talent who's been here and done this before. This confluence of resources and timing offers our stakeholders a growing confidence which underpins our excitement, and good reasons for positive expectations in the marketplace."

Tinsel Cinema will launch services as TinselVision - delivering Bollywood and South Asian television, film, sports and lifestyle content - Everywhere, All the Time. As South Asian immigrant and expatriate consumers demand more and more entertainment choice, quality, affordability and control, TinselVision says that it will be there providing alternatives to home video rentals and cable and satellite programming.