Star India Invests in Telugu Market

MUMBAI: Star India is expanding its regional business with the acquisition of Maa Television Network, which serves the Telugu-language market with four channels.

According to a Star India press release, the Telugu TV market is the second-largest regional market in India in terms of revenue potential. A leading player in the Hindi-language space, Star India's other regional assets include Star Jalsha and Jalsha Movies (Bengali), Star Pravah (Marathi), Asianet and Asianet Plus (Malayalam), Suvarna and Suvarna Plus (Kannada) and Vijay (Tamil). The deal brings Maa, Maa Music, Maa Movies and Maa Gold to its portfolio.
 
“The Telugu market is an important market; however, the pace of innovation has been slow," said Uday Shankar, the CEO of Star India. "We are keen to change this by acquiring a local presence and fundamentally changing the content quality paradigm. We were very impressed by the solid creative core and quality and depth of the management team at Maa Television Network. In a short span of time they have built a leading business which is poised to take the next leap. The acquisition fills a vital gap in our portfolio allowing our advertisers targeted access to a critical market."
 
“The strategic decision to align with Star India and be part of a global media group will be a big leap in our efforts to take the Maa TV Network to the next level and strengthen the positioning of Maa brand in the entertainment industry," added Nimmagadda Prasad, chairman of Maa Television Network. "Star’s leadership in Indian media and entertainment industry and its parent company’s proven expertise in media business on global scale will enable Maa to offer more innovative, rich and differentiated entertainment content to the Telugu diaspora worldwide."