Mumbai: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Broadcast Network (RBNL) and US media giant CBS jointly announced on Wednesday their entry into the Indian market to form an equally owned joint venture company that will initially launch three English television channels in the country.
The new venture to be called BIG CBS Networks will cater to the substantial English-speaking population in India, one of the world's fastest growing television markets. The themed channels will be branded BIG CBS Prime, a premium English general entertainment channel; Spark, the first ever English youth channel; and Love, catering exclusively to women.
Customised for the Indian market on a CBS format, the channels will premier in October, offering audiences immediate access to CBS progammes including some of the most popular television programmes in the world.
The three new channels will also be offered to audiences across the Indian Subcontinent covering India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan.
"We have commissioned a team to do research to do indigenous shows," said Tarun Katial, CEO, RBNL. "We are proud to announce our joint venture with CBS, America's leading television broadcaster. This is truly a landmark moment not just for us but the entire Reliance Ahil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, with our first step into the television broadcasting space."
Armando Nuñez, President, CBS Studios International, commented that "we could not enter this complex market alone. Reliance is an international media and entertainment powerhouse and the perfect partner for CBS to expand further into India."
The Rs265.5 billion (Dh20 billion) burgeoning Indian television market is estimated to have 134 million homes with TV sets, of which 103 million have access to cable or satellite television, including direct-to-home (DTH) services. India is poised to become the world's largest DTH satellite pay TV market by 2012.
