| Star is owned by a foreign entity and is barred from owning broadcasting channels. |
| Peter Mukerjea, chief executive (India) of Star India Pvt Ltd, said it has been approached by number of entities for possible alliances or acquisitions. |
| "Star has received number of proposals. Many merchant bankers are with us with ideas," Mukerjea said. |
| "An acquisition will provide a ready offering and instant access to viewership while a greenfield project has to develop content for a new channel," he added. |
| Star bought UTV's stake in Vijay Television, a Tamil language content company based in Chennai, earlier this year. |
| However, Star has not ruled out the idea of a greenfield channel entirely. "Each proposal would be looked at standalone basis in view of cost and the return on investment (RoI)," Mukerjea pointed out. |
| Strategic alliances were another option open to the Rupert Murdoch-owned company. Star feels growth in the C&S television market would come from regional channels in the next decade and it should be ready for this. It is planning to launch a news channel in Bengali. |
| At present, Star Plus, the group's flagship channel, accounts for the lion's share of Star India's revenue with little contribution from important markets like south. |
| Regional channels are expected to bring more local advertisers into Star's network. The Star Network in India has been growing at CAGR of about 20 per cent for last three years. |
| However, Star feels growth could be faster as companies working in matured markets like UK and US were doing as well with 25-30 per cent growth. |
| Star's foray into regional markets was expected to help in maturing the local language entertainment industry. |
| Though viewership in regional language channels is huge, quality of content is often hampered by shoestring budgets, feels Star. |
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