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STAR Adds Power to its Bouquet - Will Distribute TIMES NOW & ZOOM
STAR Group (STAR) recently announced a multi year subscription relationship with TIMES NOW and ZOOM. TIMES NOW is India's leading English news television channel and ZOOM is the most watched lifestyle and entertainment channel in the country. The changing landscape with increasing digitization presents an opportunity to both channels to grow a multi revenue strategy. STAR's own bouquet service offering grows stronger with these 2 distinctive channels.
"TIMES NOW and ZOOM are strong brands in India and have grown from strength to strength since their launch in the country. This new partnership between India's two most powerful media organizations, STAR India and the Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited will combine our complimentary strengths into an invincible amalgam," said Mr. Paritosh Joshi, President, STAR India.
STAR will represent TIMES NOW and ZOOM, to build subscription business Analogue Cable industry; DTH platforms and other digital delivery systems.
Commenting on the deal, Mr. Sunil Lulla, CEO, TIMES NOW said, "TIMES NOW is very pleased to build this new relationship with STAR. The channel has enjoyed enormous confidence which enables it to earn subscription revenues. With this relationship TIMES NOW augments the STAR Group's bouquet offering with India's leading English news channel."
Suresh Bala, CEO, ZOOM said, "For ZOOM this relationship with STAR enables it to grow its subscription revenue at a faster rate. ZOOM enjoys a strong franchise with urban and upscale audiences, with its unique offering of glamour and Bollywood news. This will further strengthen STAR India's customer offering."
Both channels expect to grow their penetration across India via the STAR bouquet; while STAR continues to grow the width of its offering.
TIMES NOW and ZOOM will remain Free To Air (FTA) in current CAS markets.
About STAR India
STAR is a leading media and entertainment company in Asia. STAR broadcasts over 60 television services in nine languages to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries. STAR channels cover all genres including general entertainment (Star Plus, Xing Kong, Star Chinese Channel, Star One, Star Utsav, Star World, Vijay, Phoenix Chinese), sports (ESPN, Star Sports), movies (Star Chinese Movies, Star Gold, Star Movies), music (Channel [V]), and news and current affairs (Star News, Star Ananda, Phoenix InfoNews Channel). STAR controls over 20,000 hours of Indian and Chinese programming and also owns the world's largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 600 titles, featuring superstars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Bruce Lee. In partnership with leading companies in Asia, STAR businesses extend to filmed entertainment, television production, cable systems, direct-to-home services, terrestrial TV broadcasting, wireless and digital services. STAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation. www.startv.com
About TIMES NOW
TIMES NOW is a 24 hour English news television channel that provides the Urbane viewers the complete picture of the news that is relevant, presented in a vivid and insightful manner, which enables them to widen their horizons & stay ahead.
TIMES NOW is brought to you by Times Global Broadcasting, a Bennett, Coleman & Co and Reuters service.
The Times Group is the largest media conglomerate in south Asia, with Leadership in newspaper publishing; magazines; music retailing; FM Radio; Internet; interactive media; mobile services and lifestyle television.
Reuters is a global information company providing indispensable news and financial information to financial professionals, media organizations and consumers around the world. Its news operation of 2300 editorial staff in 196 bureaus serving 129 countries, makes Reuters the world's largest international multimedia news agency.
Reuters and the sphere logo are the trade-marks of the Reuters group of companies.
About ZOOM
ZOOM, India's first glamour, lifestyle and celebrities television channel from Bennett Coleman Group, brings to its viewers the inside news on Bollywood, celebrity parties, edgy interviews, sizzling gossip, the biggest stars, tips to stay gorgeous and a lot more. Programming on ZOOM spans across genres like celebrity chat shows, game shows, entertainment news magazines, stand-up comedies, film and music-based shows and fashion and lifestyle. The channel presents a bouquet of programs hosted by celebrities like Yana Gupta, Irrfan, Manish Malhotra Kamal Sidhu, Pooja Bedi, Simone Singh and Dipannita Sharma to name a few. With premium content, slick packaging and compelling marketing, ZOOM aims to redefine television viewership in India.
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