Punjabi language radio and television operate commercially in Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia and Italy, funded by advertising from businesses serving those communities.
The programming is music, phone-ins, religious content, community news and a great deal of argument about Punjab.
The phone-in in particular is a genuine public sphere: an elderly Punjabi in Surrey or Southall who does not read English can call in and be heard, which is not available to them anywhere else.
These stations have been politically consequential, particularly in Canada, where Punjabi-language media has shaped community politics and, at points, diplomatic relations between two countries.
In Punjab itself, private FM radio is limited and All India Radio's Punjabi output has shrunk.
More Punjabi-language broadcasting is produced outside Punjab than inside it, for a population a fraction of the size, which is a fair indication of where the language's disposable income is.
The stations run on advertising from immigration consultants, trucking firms, insurance brokers and estate agents, which is a fair description of the diaspora economy.
Their phone-in programmes carry arguments about Punjab politics, religion and the accords in a way Punjab's own broadcasting largely does not.
Punjabi is among the more spoken languages in Canada and the broadcasting reflects it. Political parties there advertise in it during campaigns.