STAR Enters Indian Channel Distribution JV

MUMBAI/HONG KONG, January 14: STAR India and DEN Digital
Entertainment Networks have formed a 50-50 joint venture to create a platform
for distributing television channels in India via cable, DTH, IPTV and other
technologies.

Under the agreement, the Mumbai-based joint venture will be
an exclusive distributor for all of STAR India’s channels in the country. It
will also seek to expand its bouquet offerings by including other third-party
channels for distribution.

“It is an important growth initiative in the distribution
platform business and enables us to better harness the growth opportunity,”
said Uday Shankar, the CEO of STAR India. “We are pleased to tie up with a
group of professionals who we find are strategically aligned to our vision of
this business and its growth prospects.”

Sameer Manchanda, promoter and chairman of DEN, added: “DEN
is excited to join forces with India’s richest content provider in building an
independently-run and robust channel distribution platform. Our vision is to
incorporate world’s best practices to create a platform of premium content,
which adds value to the entire distribution chain. We feel this joint venture
presents a compelling opportunity to all content providers. It combines
professional management, domain knowledge and compelling content to provide
world class products and services to the Indian consumers.”

—By
Mansha Daswani