MGM and STAR DEN join hands to broadly launch The MGM Channel

Mumbai, Sep 16 (UNI) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc (MGM) today announced it will be launching the MGM Channel on Indian cable television, the world's third largest cable market.

Carriage of The MGM Channel will be handled by STAR DEN Media Services Pvt Ltd (STAR DEN), the distribution joint venture between News Corporation's STAR India, the leading television network in India, and DEN Digital Entertainment Network, one of India's leading cable companies.

The announcement was made by MGM Executive Vice President Bruce Tuchman, at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc at a press conference here.

Under the terms of the distribution agreement, entered into by MGM Programming Service India Pvt Ltd, STAR DEN will handle distribution of the MGM Channel, wholly owned by MGM, to cable platforms operating in a nation-wide cable market of over 70 million homes.

This will significantly increase the reach of The MGM Channel which is currently available in India through Dish TV, the country's largest Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite platform. In addition, the STAR DEN carriage agreement will also help The MGM Channel secure carriage on new DTH and IPTV platforms that are emerging across the country, said Mr Tuchman.

While announcing the deal, Tuchman stated ''being backed by STAR India and DEN is the ultimate seal of approval in the eyes of India's cable operators, MGM will now have a compelling opportunity to extend and accelerate our channel's reach throughout the widest possible audience in the large and burgeoning Indian television market.

Commenting on the launch of MGM Channel STAR DEN CEO Gurjeev Singh Kapoor stated that MGM with its huge library of compelling Hollywood movies will bring a great value addition to the STAR DEN bouquet of channels and will indeed compliment the best of English Programming it offers to viewers in the country.

Over the last several years, MGM has focused on growing its channel business in the global marketplace. Currently, there are nearly 20 separate feeds of MGM channels outside the U S, in over 15 languages, reaching scores of markets across the Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Rim. MGM Networks manages Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc's interests in cable, satellite and other television channels and services that reach over 120 countries and territories around the world.

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