NEW YORK & MUMBAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Viacom Inc. (Nasdaq: VIAB, VIA), today announced that it has acquired a
50% interest in Prism TV Private Limited for 9.4BN rupees (approximately
$153M USD). Prism TV owns and operates regional entertainment channels
in India, including ETV Marathi, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Oriya and
ETV Gujarati, all of which were recently rebranded under the ‘COLORS'
umbrella.
The transaction was completed today between Nickelodeon Asia Holdings
Pte Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., and Shinano Retail
Private Limited, a company effectively 100% owned by Reliance Industrial
Investments and Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance
Industries Limited. The parties received clearance from India's Foreign
Investment Promotion Board earlier this month.
With this acquisition, Viacom Inc. will hold 50% of Prism TV and the
remaining 50% interest will continue to be owned by the Network18 Group,
Viacom's partner in the Viacom18 joint venture. Viacom18 is the fastest
growing entertainment network in India, operating 10 channels including
MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and COLORS, a leading Hindi general
entertainment brand. The deal gives Viacom a significant presence in the
fast growing regional TV sector in India, where almost 60% of the
population of more than 1.2 billion people speak regional dialects as
their first language. Collectively, regional TV stations account for the
second largest share of viewing in the Indian market, behind only Hindi
general entertainment channels.
Philippe Dauman, President and CEO of Viacom, said: "We're thrilled to
be broadening our presence in one of the largest and fastest growing TV
markets in the world, and deepening our already strong partnership with
Network18. This acquisition is an important step in building on our
leadership position in India, a key market in Viacom's international
growth strategy."
A P Parigi, Group CEO Network18, said: "This acquisition by Viacom
International Media Networks further strengthens the partnership with
Network18 both in terms of depth and breadth. I am confident India will
emerge as a global entertainment powerhouse in the year ahead."
Bob Bakish, President and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks,
said: "Regional TV networks - and regional ad markets - are the next
wave of growth in India. Having a strong national and broad regional
presence gives us a powerful platform to launch additional brands, and
introduce successful franchises and formats across India."
Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO Viacom18, said: "This acquisition is a big
milestone for Viacom & Network 18 and it showcases their combined
conviction to build a powerful broadcast offering for the Indian market.
We are delighted by the transaction and the next growth phase for the
companies."
About Viacom
Viacom is home to premier global media brands that create compelling
television programs, motion pictures, short-form video, apps, games,
consumer products, social media and other entertainment content for
audiences in more than 165 countries and territories. Viacom's media
networks, including Nickelodeon, CMT, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, TV
Land, Nick at Nite, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, SPIKE, Logo, BET, CENTRIC,
Channel 5 (UK), Tr3s, Paramount Channel and VIVA, reach a cumulative 3.2
billion television subscribers worldwide. Paramount Pictures is a major
global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. For more
information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com.
Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom's blog at blog.viacom.com
and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/viacom.
About TV18
TV18 Broadcast Ltd operates news channels - CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz,
CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, CNBC Bajar, CNN-IBN, News18 India, IBN7 and
IBN-Lokmat (a Marathi regional news channel in partnership with the
Lokmat group). TV18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called
Viacom18, which houses a portfolio of popular entertainment channels -
Colors, Colors HD, MTV, SONIC, Comedy Central, VH1, Nick. Nick Jr. and
Nick Teen - and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the group's filmed
entertainment business. TV18 has also forayed into the Indian factual
entertainment space through A+E Networks | TV18 (a joint venture between
A+E Networks and TV18 Broadcast) and operates HistoryTV18. TV18 and
Viacom18 have also formed a strategic joint venture called IndiaCast, a
multi-platform ‘content asset monetization' entity mandated to drive
domestic and international channels distribution, placement services and
content syndication for the bouquet of channels from TV18, Viacom18 and
other broadcasters.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150731005313/en/
VIMN (NY)
Julia Phelps, +1 212 846 5288
Julia.phelps@vimn.com
or
VIMN
(London)
Matt Baker, +44 203 580 2101
matt.baker@vimn.com
or
Network
18
Amartya Ray, +91 9920420446
amartya.ray@network18online.com
Source: Viacom Inc.
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