Also plans foray in Indian print media.
Global media baron Rupert Murdoch plans to buy 20 to 26 per cent in the Sakaal Group’s upcoming Marathi news channel Saam TV, slated for an August-15 launch.
This is a part of his proposal to invest around $100 million in six regional channels in India within a year.
Murdoch is also planning a foray in the print media in India in association with the Sakaal Group — though the Australian-born billionaire told reporters here today that he had no plans to invest in an incumbent newspaper publisher in the country owing to a 26 per cent limit on foreign investment in media.
The sources said Murdoch intends to launch Asian Wall Street Journal and the widely-read tabloid The Sun with another joint venture partner.
Murdoch and the Sakaal group are also in advanced negotiations to launch a home shopping channel in association with Korean network CJ.
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A source close to the development said the News Corporation chairman met Sakaal Group Director Abhijit Pawar over the weekend.
“The two companies are looking at making serious headway in the print media also,” the source said. Pawar declined to comment. The Pawars are closely related to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.
Sources close to the developments said the stake acquisition deal with the Sakaal group will be struck after December, when Murdoch’s no-compete agreement with Kolkata-based ABP Pvt Ltd ends.
The Star group, owned by Murdoch’s News Corporation, had formed the joint venture — Media Content and Communications Services India (MCCS) — in 2003. ABP holds 74 per cent in the company and Star 26 per cent. The venture has launched regional channels such as Bengali news channel Star Ananda, Marathi news channel Star Majha and so on.
Meanwhile, the Star-Balaji Telefilms joint venture, formed in April 2007 to launch regional general entertainment channels, will soon be terminated.
“The joint venture is in limbo. But there will be more clarity on this in the next 10-15 days,” a source at Balaji Telefilms said. Star, which is the majority stakeholder (51 per cent) in the joint venture, also holds 25.99 per cent in Balaji Telefilms through Asian Broadcasting. It is said that Star is now looking at selling its stake.
The New York-based media group will also increase editorial staff at its Dow Jones unit in India to 70 from the current 25, including the Dow Jones newswire and the Wall Street Journal newspaper, Robert Thomson, managing editor of the Journal said. “There is real demand for high quality content,” Thomson said, adding: “Much of the expansion will come in real-time.”