The deals, signed at at MIP TV in Cannes recently, include those with Eurosport News, Fashion TV, Trace by MCM, Malibu TV and Platinum TV Network.

Eurosports news channel is the world's only sports news specific channel. Trace by MCM is another international English music channel and depends heavily on European music. Malibu TV is a nature sports channel and viewers will have access to 24 hours of action on para-sailing, mountaineering and surfing. Apart from FTV, which is available on cable networks in India and is hugely popular despite criticism from the moral brigade here, another channel that focuses on lifestyle will be Platinum TV, which will cover various genres of programming like health shows, celebrity lifestyle, travel, good food and living, among others.

Dish TV is a company promoted by Essel Group's ASC Enterprises Limited. At present, the platform managers claim to have over 100,000 subscribers with a bouquet of 50 channels. Dish TV is in the process of increasing its capacity to 108 channels by May 2004.