D B Corp, the owner of the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, is in advanced discussions with broadcaster INX Media to acquire a stake in the company that operates the entertainment channels as well as a majority stake in its English language news channel NewsX. Both companies are promoted by Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, the former Star India CEO.
Sakaal Times is in the news for the wrong reasons. The paper has shut down its Delhi office leaving a little over 60 people jobless.
Rupert Murdoch's international financial daily The Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones & Company, is all set to launch its facsimile edition in India next month. The newspaper, to be launched in Mumbai, is likely to be priced at Rs 30 a copy.
Days after NTT DoCoMo of Japan announced that it will buy 26 per cent in Tata Teleservices for $2.7 billion, NRI businessman C Sivasankaran has decided to put on the block his eight per cent stake in the company.
After 11 years of hanging like a sword on PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd, the government's condition that the company must dilute its equity in fully-owned downstream ventures is close to being waived.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has rejected a proposal by Tata Investment Corporation (TIC) to issue zero coupon convertible bonds (ZCCBs) with detachable warrants to its shareholders.
The government and Reserve Bank of India are working on measures that include relaxing norms for Non-Performing Assets (sticky loans) and prudential lending to kick-start key infrastructure projects.
The business model is going through a reality check; expansion plans on hold and manpower rationalisation is on the cards. Checking expenditure is critical now as advertising is already on a downswing, though CEOs insist that the real impact will be felt in the next quarter. On condition of anonymity, an advertising sales executive admits to a 15 to 20 per cent decline in news channel advertising.
An interview with BMR partners and media specialists Nitin Atroley and Vivek Gupta
The government is discussing a number of policy measures to insulate India from the impact of the global financial crisis including further banking reform, industrial de-control, auctioning all loss-making public sector units, foreign investment in retail, amending labour laws and notifying important pending legislation like the Delhi Rent Control Act.
Singur divided between those who want Tata back and those who just want their land.
The regulator has suggested that all spectrum will be auctioned as opposed to the current policy of bundling it with a 2G licence. A beginning has been made with the auctioning of spectrum for 3G services, which is due later this year. Trai has also suggested that licences for any telecom service should be auctioned as opposed to the current policy, where it is given on a first-come-first-served basis. The new policy is expected to be ready by the end of December this year.
The challenge has been thrown by Mahesh Prasad Agarwal, brother of the late Dwarka Prasad Agarwal, who claims he owns 30 per cent in Dwarka Prasad Agarwal & Brothers, the company that holds the Dainik Bhaskar title. His son, Sanjay, says, "If D B Corp does not fully own the Dainik Bhaskar title, how can it use the brand name to raise money?" However, D B Corp executives claimed there was no dispute over the title as it had been settled by the Supreme Court order of July 2003.
At least three major broadcasting companies have held discussions on forming a combine, the first of its kind, to counter the might of media buying houses in dictating commercial air-time rates.
India will be one of the key centres for design and development of the A350 aircraft, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus' answer to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
It is not clear, however, whether the two players are considering a majority stake or would be content as investors with 26 per cent.
With advertising a little less robust than last year and television ad rates not showing any sign of climbing up, thanks to viewership fragmentation and increased competition, the Hindi general entertainment channels are tapping non-advertising revenue streams to shore up incomes. This includes content-repurposing, overseas subscription, and licensing and merchandising.
To add to company's 'three-screen' strategy of mobile phones, IPTV and broadband.
However, operators said the chief beneficiary would be the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which have already been given the spectrum for 3G services, as well as Reliance Communications, which is still to roll out its 2G GSM network.
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