Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd and CBS Studios International are to launch three new television channels in India and South Asia, the companies announced yesterday.
The English-language channels, dedicated to general entertainment, youth and women, are due to go live in October and will be available in India as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The companies declined to give specific financial details of the tie-up but said each would have a 50 percent stake in the joint venture, which is designed to tap into India’s fast-growing television market.
Tarun Katial, chief executive of Reliance Broadcast Network, described the deal — the company’s first foray into television broadcasting — as a “landmark moment.”
“We see great opportunity in the Indian television industry which projects a high growth rate,” he said in a joint statement from Mumbai.
CBS Studios International president Armando Nunez added that the venture was an “exciting alliance with potential for amazing synergies and new opportunities in one of the world’s most dynamic business and media markets.”
Reliance Broadcast Network is part of the giant Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, which has interests in radio, marketing, advertising, mobile and Internet sectors.
CBS Studios International is part of the CBS Corp and supplies content around the world from CBS television and film units.
Television is the largest sector of India’s media and entertainment world and was worth 257 billion Indian rupees (US$5.5 billion) last year with almost 500 million viewers.
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