MUMBAI, India, August 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Reliance
Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL), part of the Reliance Anil
Dhirubhai Ambani Group, and CBS Studios International, a division
of CBS Corporation, today announced their equally owned joint
venture that brings together two of the world's pre-eminent media
and entertainment companies. Marking the announcement of the joint
venture in Mumbai, India, were
Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance
Broadcast Network Limited and Armando
Nunez, President, CBS Studios International.
The Joint Venture Company (the "JVCo") will be a limited
liability company incorporated in India. CBS and RBNL (through its subsidiary)
will act as shareholders and each have a 50% equity interest in the
JVCo. The joint venture will, at its start, see the creation of
three new television channels allowing for programming rights in
India, one of the world's
fastest-growing television markets, and across the Indian
subcontinent. Leveraging both brand strengths, the JVCo is called
BIG CBS Networks Pvt. Ltd. The channels will be English language
entertainment channels customized for the Indian market, and will
premier in the 4th quarter 2010, offering audiences immediate
access to new and current CBS programs, including some of the most
popular television programs in the world.
The three new channels will be made available across a network
of digital and analog distribution platforms. They will also be
offered to audiences across the Indian subcontinent covering
India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, the
Maldives and Pakistan. The themed channels will be targeted
to India's fast-growing, upwardly
mobile population and branded BIG CBS Prime, a premium English
language general entertainment channel; BIG CBS Spark, India's first-ever English language youth
channel; and BIG CBS Love, India's
first-ever English language entertainment channel for women.
With Reliance Broadcast Network Limited's multi-media presence
and an integrated sales offering combined with the content and
media muscle of CBS, BIG CBS stands to make a significant impact on
India's burgeoning television
industry. Add to this considerable synergies across Reliance ADAG
platforms, which include distribution forays through BIG TV and
Reliance Digicable, television production through BIG SYNERGY and
BIG Productions as well as filmed content through BIG PICTURES,
international partnerships with DreamWorks and the Group's many
advertising and promotional platforms, the potential of this Joint
Venture clearly has exciting prospects.
The wide range of popular CBS content to be offered by the
channels will include new series such as "Hawaii Five-0," "The
Defenders" and "Blue Bloods," as well as current hits such as
"NCIS," "Survivor," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "90210,"
"America's Next Top Model" and "Entertainment Tonight."
The channels will also draw from 70,000 hours of content from
CBS's vast program library, including the original "Melrose Place,"
"Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Frasier," "Everybody Loves
Raymond" and "Charmed," to name a few.
In addition, the venture will also acquire content from
third-party suppliers and will consider producing original English
language programming for the channels in the future.
Commenting about the new Joint Venture, Mr. Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network
Ltd. said, "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 ADA Group, with our
first step into the television broadcasting space. We see great
opportunity in the Indian television industry which projects high
growth rate, and we are confident that our deep understanding of
the Indian consumer's entertainment requirement and advertiser
needs, coupled with CBS' reputation for creating superior content,
will offer unmatched and pioneering entertainment to audiences in
India and across the Indian
subcontinent."
"Reliance is an international media and entertainment powerhouse
and the perfect partner for CBS to expand further into India," said Armando
Nunez, President, CBS Studios International. "The vast
programming, production and media resources of our two companies
position us extremely well to serve audiences, advertisers and all
constituents of these new channels. This is an exciting alliance
with potential for amazing synergies and new opportunities for our
companies in one of the world's most dynamic business and media
markets."
The Rs. 265.5 billion burgeoning Indian television market is
estimated to have 134 million homes with televisions, of which 103
million have access to cable or satellite television, including
direct-to-home (DTH). India is
poised to become the world's largest DTH satellite pay TV market by
2012, overtaking the U.S. with a projected 35 million
subscribers.
While BIG CBS will initially focus on the English language
general entertainment channels, the joint venture may also explore
the option of launching Hindi Language and Regional Language
general entertainment channels, along with other possible projects
in the future.
The joint venture with Reliance in India marks CBS Studios International's second
significant launch of international channels in key markets in the
past year. Last September, CBS established a joint venture with
Chello Media to launch a suite of CBS-branded channels in the U.K.
The company also has ownership interests in SCI FI and TV1, which are pay television
channels in Australia.
About Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd.
Reliance Broadcast Network Limited ("RBNL") is part of the
Reliance ADA Group. One of India's
youngest media houses, it has grown at a steady pace and is
reckoned today amongst India's
leading media businesses. RBNL currently has play in the spaces of
Radio, Experiential Marketing, Out-of-Home and Digital and
specializes in creating and executing integrated solutions for
clients across the country. Its latest business venture marks the
ADA Group's entry into television through its 50:50 JV with
America's leading media house, CBS Studios International:
92.7 BIG FM - the radio brand pioneered the spread of FM
entertainment with the launch of its 45-station network, reaching
out to over 200 million Indians; BIG Live - the experiential
marketing wing of the Company covers activations, events,
intellectual properties and rural marketing; BIG Street - in the
business of out-of-home media; and BIG Digital - an initiative in
the digital space offering mobile and online solutions. BIG CBS -
the television foray of the Group, will see the launch of three
English language GEC's catering to the Indian subcontinent. With
Reliance Broadcast Network Limited's multi-media presence and an
integrated sales offering, combined with the content muscle of CBS,
BIG CBS Networks Private Ltd., stands to make a significant impact
on India's burgeoning television
industry.
Having built significant multi-media capabilities, these
business verticals come together to offer a truly integrated
solution to clients. For more information, log on to
http://www.reliancebroadcast.com.
About CBS Studios International
CBS Studios International is the leading supplier of programming
to the international television marketplace, licensing to over 200
markets and more than 30 languages across multiple media platforms.
CBS Studios International also exports a diverse line-up of formats
for local production around the world and participates in
international channel ventures. The division distributes content
from CBS Television Studios, CBS Television Distribution, SHOWTIME,
CBS News, CBS Films and a library of more than 70,000 hours of
programming. CBS Studios International is a division of CBS
Corporation.
About CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is a mass media company with constituent parts
that reach back to the beginnings of the broadcast industry, as
well as newer businesses that operate on the leading edge of the
media industry. The Company, through its many and varied
operations, combines broad reach with well-positioned local
businesses, all of which provide it with an extensive distribution
network by which it serves audiences and advertisers in all 50
states and key international markets. It has operations in
virtually every field of media and entertainment, including
broadcast television (CBS and The CW - a joint venture between CBS
Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable television
(Showtime Networks, Smithsonian Networks and CBS College Sports
Network), local television (CBS Television Stations), television
production and syndication (CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios
International and CBS Television Distribution), radio (CBS Radio),
advertising on out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon
& Schuster), interactive media (CBS Interactive), music (CBS
Records), licensing and merchandising (CBS Consumer Products),
video/DVD (CBS Home Entertainment), motion pictures (CBS Films) and
sustainable media (EcoMedia). For more information, log on to
http://www.cbscorporation.com.