Finally that is official. Star Group and Asianet is joining togther to own its entertainment channels. Till now there were rumours in the media circles. In Kerala Communist Marxist party was writing articles against the deal in its Newspaper Deshabhimani [Great Joke].
Star and Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s Jupiter formed a company for this with the name ‘Star Jupiter Entertainment Television Ltd’ (Star Jupiter).
Under the agreement and subject to regulatory approvals, Star Jupiter will become the majority shareholder of Asianet Communications Ltd (ACL), which currently broadcasts channels in Kannada (Suvarna), Telugu (Sitara) and Malayalam (Asianet, Asianet Plus). Vijay TV, the Tamil general entertainment channel currently operated and owned by Star, will now come under STAR Jupiter.
News channels of Asianet will not come under the purview of this deal. This was stated by the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Asianet K Madhavan.
I wonder why and how they are broadcasting news in their entertainment channel asianet. I watched their news even on 15 November 2008. Madhavan’s announcement was telecasted as a news in the same channel in its 10.30 news on 14 November 2008.
Prior to this development majority stake in Asianet Satellite Communications Ltd was held by M/s Asianet TV Holdings Pvt. Ltd, a company owned by M/s. Jupiter Entertainment Ventures Private Limited – a subsidiary of M/s. Jupiter Capitals Ltd., promoted by Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
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.
Source: asianetglobal.com and exchange4media.com
Tags: asianet, jupiter, madhavan, rajeev chandrasekhar, star, star jupiter
