Book excerpt: Satellite TV respects no borders and has thus posed a major challenge to the nation state and to national broadcasting systems. This extremely well-written and comprehensive book tells the fascinating story of the opening of the skies, the media companies involved, the means of distribution and the reactions of viewers to the huge and growing menu of programmes. /-//-/The authors show that satellite TV has been instrumental in creating a new South Asian popular culture which has proved both attractive and controversial, and explore the implications of these developments for the national broadcasting cultures of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.