Sony Entertainment to buy stake in SAB TV
Sony Entertainment Satellite (Singapore), a unit of Sony Corp., said on Monday it will buy a stake in Indian broadcaster Sri Adhikari Brothers TV (SAB) and distribute the channel exclusively.
The Sony-SAB deal is just the latest in a process of integration which has accelerated recently in the industry.
In a notice to the National exchange, SAB said the valuation and size of the stake would be determined at a later date.
Shares in SAB TV, positioned as a humour channel, ended 3.9 percent lower at 89.70 rupees. The Bombay index slid 0.3 percent.
"It is a time of consolidation in the industry, and the future for networks is through subscriptions," said Markand Adhikari, a managing director at SAB TV. "It is also necessary for a channel to align with a prominent bouquet to grow."
SAB TV, launched in 2000, is free-to-air and operates as a stand-alone general entertainment channel. It also makes content.
Sony Entertainment's fully-owned Indian subsidiary lags leader Star India, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., in advertising revenues and subscribers in India's 48-million-strong cable TV base, the world's third largest.
The Sony-SAB deal is just the latest in a process of integration which has accelerated recently in the industry.
In a notice to the National exchange, SAB said the valuation and size of the stake would be determined at a later date.
Shares in SAB TV, positioned as a humour channel, ended 3.9 percent lower at 89.70 rupees. The Bombay index slid 0.3 percent.
"It is a time of consolidation in the industry, and the future for networks is through subscriptions," said Markand Adhikari, a managing director at SAB TV. "It is also necessary for a channel to align with a prominent bouquet to grow."
SAB TV, launched in 2000, is free-to-air and operates as a stand-alone general entertainment channel. It also makes content.
Sony Entertainment's fully-owned Indian subsidiary lags leader Star India, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., in advertising revenues and subscribers in India's 48-million-strong cable TV base, the world's third largest.