NDTV set to launch global film channel

English film channels HBO and Star Movies will finally have competition.

Alliance Lumiere, owned by NDTV Imagine, the entertainment company of NDTV, is all set to launch an international film channel. The films will be distributed in India and abroad. They will also be marketed through DVDs and VCDs for private viewing.

The proposed post-investment shareholding pattern of the company will have NDTV Imagine as the majority shareholder with 51 per cent stake.

Manmohan Shetty will hold 29 per cent through Adlabs Properties, while celebrity manager-turned film producer Sunil Doshi will own the remaining 20 per cent.

Doshi's company Handmade Films (of Bheja Fry and Mixed Doubles fame), is already in the business of licensing and distributing European films in India.

The total project cost is Rs 19.50 crore, of which NDTV Imagine will invest Rs 12.24 crore and the remaining will come from the two partners.

A Hindi film channel is on the cards, too, under Imagine Showbiz Limited, a company owned by NDTV Imagine in partnership with North Star Advertising and Cine Star Advertising.

Imagine Showbiz's proposed post investment shareholding pattern will see NDTV Imagine and nominees holding 51 per cent stake, with the remaining being divided equally between the two partners.

The project cost of Imagine Showbiz is Rs 14 crore.

The two companies will be registered in India. NDTV Imagine is owned by NDTV Networks, NDTV's UK subsidiary.