MUMBAI, MAY 8
Reliance Big TV, the (DTH) arm of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is all set to sign deals with Fox, Warner Brothers and Korean Broadcasting to bring global channels in India.
On finalization of the deal, Big TV will introduce five global channels of Fox and one global channel each of Warner Bros and Korean Broadcasting. The name of these channels includes Fox Adventure, Fox Crime, Fox FX, Fox History, Nat Geo Music, Warners WB Movies and KBS World.
Apart from this, the company was seen in advanced stages of talks with global DTH operators and some private equity investors to hive off 49 per cent stake for Rs 8,000 crore, with an aim to expand its service in direct-to-home (DTH) market.
Sources reported that the company is presently in discussion with leading private equity companies like Carlyle Group, Sequoia Capital, KKR and US-based DTH firm Direct TV to sell its stake.
Big TV, which launched its DTH services in August 2008, is currently the second smallest player, with just over 18 lakh subscribers out of 1.25 crore DTH customers in India.
The company claimed to have added over one million subscribers within 90 days of its launch, a record of sorts amongst DTH players.
