Times Television Network (TTN) Tuesday said it has launched Times Now and Zoom in Canada on Cogeco Cable to take the international reach of the two channels to 45 countries across four continents.

TTN will be extending its international presence further this year with its launch in Europe.

With a mix of localised marketing and programming events in respective international markets, TTN aims to strengthen connect with the Indian diaspora.

Indian soaps are working up more lather than ever in foreign countries, with television viewers from Serbia to Kenya lapping up typically domestic fare such as BalikaVadhu and Uttaran, opening up newer markets for the producers.

The actors playing the parts of Anandi and the duo of Tapasya and Ichcha in these television serials are fast becoming household names beyond the country's shores, following in the footsteps of trailblazers from the silver screen such as Raj Kapoor, Rajinikanth and Shah Rukh Khan.

After four straight quarters of revenue and net profit decline on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, Sun TV Network Ltd's December quarter financial performance was a positive surprise, beating Street expectations. Double-digit growth in advertising compared with single-digit growth in the first half of the fiscal year boosted performance. Subscription revenue rose 16%, reflecting the full impact of the Arasu deal.

Zee TV has climbed to the second rank in the Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) hierarchy for the first time in 2013 as some of its special shows performed strongly in week 3.

Star Plus regained its top position as Colors, living without its popular reality show Bigg Boss, slipped ground to take up the No. 3 spot.