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MUMBAI:
News Corp. plans to invest $100 million to launch six regional
language television channels in India, chairman Rupert Murdoch
told reporters here today.
The
channels will be under the Star brand and will be launched
within 12 months. "We may opt for partnerships for a
couple of these channels," Murdoch explained.
Indiantelevision.com
had earlier reported that Star would be launching general
entertainment channels in Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi and Telugu
languages.
Murdoch
said News Corp. is not eyeing stakes in any Indian newspaper
as it is not comfortable being a minority stakeholder. "We
do not see ourselves taking a stake in any media goup here.
We do not want to be a 26 per cent partner with anybody."
For newspapers, the government has fixed a 26 per cent FDI
(foreign direct investment) cap.
Murdoch
ruled out the sale of stake in Balaji Telefilms and said that
Star Group was planning to invest in another production house
with a different focus and skill base to add variety to the
content.
Murdoch
said there are plans to enter into film production in India.
He, however, added that due to Bollywood being in great demand,
film production in India is expensive.
The
Wall Street Journal would also not be launched in India. Said
WSJ managing editor Robert Thomson, "Regulations should
change before it could be launched in India."
Murdoch added that the arrival and development of the Internet
would make investment restrictions in the newspaper business
redundant.
Murdoch
today launched the Dow Jones India Titans 30 Index to gauge
the performance of leading Indian stocks.
Dow
Jones Newswires' editorial staff in India will be more than
doubled to 60 to 70 from the current 25 over the next six
months, Murdoch added.
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