Going is good in India for Murdoch & Co

[Bapun]

NEW DELHI: Last year when the global economy was slowly emerging from the financial crisis Rupert Murdoch was telling his investors about the tremendous opportunities for expanding mar ket share in emerging markets, including India Murdoch's firm may be facing tough times in UK and the US but in India the company has been expanding its footprint over 20 years.

Murdoch arrived in India with his Star TV brand nearly two decades ago. Currently, it holds 26% in the joint venture with ABP TV which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) Pvt Ltd. The joint venture Media Content and Communications Services India Pvt Ltd (MCCS). It offers three 24-hour news channels - Star News, Star Anando and Star Majha -- in Hindi, Bengali and Marathi.

The Star TV net work broadcasts in eight languages. Murdoch operates through his wholly owned subsidiary Star India. According to News Corporation's annual report, in January 2009 the company and Asianet TV Holdings Pvt Ltd (Asianet) formed a joint venture (Star Jupiter) to provide general entertainment channels in south India. The com pany paid approximately $235 million in cash for a controlling interest in four Asianet channels.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-07-19/news/29790966_1_india-murdoch-joint-venture-entertainment-channels