STAR, Jupiter launch joint venture TV company for South

New Delhi, Nov 14 (UNI) The STAR and Jupiter Entertainment Ventures today announced the formation of STAR Jupiter Entertainment Television Limited (STAR Jupiter), a joint venture aimed at enhancing the television viewing experience of South Indian audiences.

Jupiter Entertainment Ventures is owned by Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Under the agreement and subject to regulatory approvals, STAR Jupiter will become the majority shareholder of Asianet Communications Limited (ACL) which currently broadcasts channels in Kannada (Suvarna), Telugu (Sitara) and Malayalam (Asianet, Asianet Plus).

Vijay, the Tamil language general entertainment channel currently operated and owned by STAR, will now come under STAR Jupiter.

The Joint Venture is expected to make additional investments towards developing and launching new channels in South India in the coming months.

The current management team of ACL, including Vice-Chairman and Managing Director K Madhavan will continue in their roles under the Joint Venture.

Paul Aiello, CEO of STAR, said, "This is a game changing partnership for STAR. It allows us to connect deeply with the rapidly growing South Indian audience by providing compelling television that truly resonates with the viewers there. And by adding the South Indian channels to our extensive portfolio of Hindi and regional language channels, STAR takes a big step towards becoming a truly national broadcaster in India." Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar also expressed his excitement at the new partnership, ''which will potentially transform the entertainment television business in India.'' Uday Shankar, CEO of STAR India said, "South India represents the next big growth story for Indian television. With this strategic partnership, we should be able to capture this growth opportunity and create a much bigger platform for creative talent that would offer the South Indian a lot more exciting content.

STAR and Jupiter are also exploring a wide range of new areas of cooperation including film co-production by Fox STAR Studios India and Indigo Movies, Jupiter Entertainment's movie production arm.

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