BIG CBS Networks Pvt. Ltd., an equal joint venture between Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. (533143.BY) and CBS Corp. (CBS), is likely to break even in the year through March 2013, even as it tries to get rights to screen American blockbusters in India, said a senior executive Monday.

BIG CBS Networks is in talks with Universal Studios, Inc. to acquire satellite broadcast rights for the Indian subcontinent for the Hollywood studio's movie titles, the executive from the Indian company, who declined to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires.

The joint venture firm, formed in August, is likely to post a revenue of as much as INR3.25 billion in its fifth year of operations, the executive added.

Earlier in the day, Reliance Broadcast's chief executive, Tarun Katial, said BIG CBS Networks was in talks with Walt Disney Co. (DIS) to acquire the India satellite rights.

"Big CBS is in talks with Disney to acquire its film library to beef up weekend movies," Katial said. The broadcasting rights under discussion are for India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, he added.

Neither the executives of Universal Studio nor those of Disney were immediately available for a comment.

Some of Disney's iconic titles include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Finding Nemo while those of Universal Studios' include The Phantom of the Opera in 1925 and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923.

Reliance Broadcast's shares rose as much as INR88.25 each and closed up 0.8% at INR87. The Bombay Stock Exchange ended 1.4% higher.

BIG CBS Networks launched its first English general entertainment television channel in the Indian sub-continent Monday, entering into alliances with multi-system cable distributors including Reliance Big TV, Digicable, Den Networks Ltd. (533137.BY) and Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd. (533162.BY).

In addition, the venture has signed distribution deals with InCable, Airtel DTH, which is a unit of Bharti Airtel Ltd. (532454.BY), and 7Star.

"Through our distribution tie-ups, we have achieved nearly 100% target audience coverage to reach over 20 million households on the day of launch," Katial said.

At the time of launch, Reliance Broadcast and CBS said India is likely to become the world's largest direct-to-home satellite pay TV market by 2012, overtaking the U.S., with a projected 35 million subscribers.

The joint venture's first channel, Big CBS Prime, will air shows such as Survivor, Late Show with David Letterman and Entertainment Tonight and expects to tap luxury brands to sell airtime advertising to.

Reliance Broadcast, previously known as Reliance Media World Ltd., is part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. It also offers 45 FM radio stations under the 92.7 Big FM brand and runs an outdoor advertising unit and marketing unit.

India's television industry is projected to grow 15% a year between 2010 and 2014, when it will be valued at INR521 billion ($11.3 billion), according to a March report by consultancy firm KPMG and Indian trade body FICCI.

The report said growth will be driven by corporations spending more on advertising, an increase in subscriptions on the back of greater television penetration, and with more homes switching to digital television distribution platforms.

-By Kenan Machado, Dow Jones Newswires; +91 22 6145 6107; kenan.machado@dowjones.com
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