Dori Media Sells Stake in Indonesian Channel

CULVER CITY/ZURICH: Dori Media Group has sold a 50-percent stake in Televiva, its telenovela channel in Indonesia, to Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks.

The service, targeting females 15-plus with imported telenovelas dubbed into Bahasa Indonesia, is carried on leading DTH operator Indovision. SPT already has a strong presence in Indonesia—which is expected to have 5.5 million pay-TV homes by 2016—where its channels AXN, Sony Entertainment Television, beTV, One and Animax are carried on all platforms.

“We are very excited and appreciative that SPT Networks has chosen to partner with us in Indonesia, which has become a major market in Southeast Asia," said Nadav Palti, the president and CEO of Dori Media Group. "We have developed a successful business over a number of years, but we are certain that SPT Networks’ involvement will contribute to our operations in Indonesia, as well as venture to other regions.”

Andy Kaplan, the president of worldwide networks for Sony Pictures Television, added, “The joint-venture agreement demonstrates our continued commitment to the Indonesian pay-TV marketplace. Televiva complements our bouquet of channels and we look forward to working closely with DMG for continued success.”