MUMBAI: Manchester United has taken complete ownership of its in-house television channel Manchester United Television (MUTV) by acquiring the one-third minority equity stake held by BskyB (Sky).

MUTV is now a wholly owned group subsidiary.

As part of the club?s long-term digital media plans, Manchester United has made the strategic acquisition of Sky?s stake in MUTV in order to own 100 per cent of the content production and distribution capabilities of this business.

MUTV was launched in 1998 as a three-way joint venture, with UK broadcasters ITV and Sky as equal partners. Since then, MUTV has developed considerable in-house expertise and Manchester United bought ITV?s one-third equity stake in November 2007.

According to the club, the latest acquisition is a natural progression and is indicative of the club?s desire to have full control of the content generating and distribution capabilities across all of its businesses.

MUTV is available in 57 countries around the world. It is accessed in the UK and Ireland by subscription on satellite and cable platforms, and in the rest of the world through a combination of subscription or as programming blocks purchased by international broadcasters.

Manchester United commercial director Richard Arnold said: "The acquisition of Sky?s stake is great news for all our fans who watch us around the globe, MUTV, its staff and the club. We look forward to continuing to enhance our media proposition and distribution capabilities in the years to come, and delivering some of the best and most compelling content to our 659 million followers.

MUMBAI: British media company ITV has agreed to acquired 61.5 per cent stake in Gurney Productions, a full-service television production company, supplying hours of reality and factual based programming to major networks in the US and abroad.

ITV will pay $40 million for acquiring the controlling stake in Gurney Productions. It will also have the option to buy the remaining 38.5 per cent through a put and call option which could be exercised from three years after the initial deal and at the end of year five.

Commenting on the deal Adam Crozier, chief executive of ITV plc, said: ?Growing ITV Studios is a key part of our strategy to rebalance the Group. Our studios business is already showing strong organic growth and the acquisition of Gurney is an important step forward as we continue to expand our international production capability. TV Studios America has been growing revenues at around 20% for the last two years under the leadership of Paul Buccieri. Gurney is a great company with terrific programme brands, which will add scale to our already successful US business.?

Gurney Productions was founded in 2005 by Scott and Deirdre Gurney and has become a leading independent producer of large scale returning series for US cable networks. It counts Duck Dynasty show as one of its key properties.

MUMBAI: Digitisation is attracting foreign niche channels to launch in India. Trace Sports, the High Definition lifestyle channel dedicated to sports celebrities, has entered the Indian market.

Trace Sports has assigned NDTV to distribute the channel in India. The channel has signed a carriage deal with direct-to-home (DTH) operator Airtel digital TV, which has a subscriber base of 7.45 million.

"We have a multi-year distribution deal with Trace Sports. We have launched the channel on Airtel digital TV and on cable networks like Hathway, Digicable and ICC Network in Pune," NDTV head of affiliate sales and network distribution Rahul Sood told Indiantelevision.com.

Airtel digital TV offers the channel as part of its South Value Sports Pack in South India and in the rest of the country through the Economy Sports Pack.

The channel is currently available on free view basis and the subscription fee will be decided shortly, Sood added.]

Trace Sports is targeted at sports fans with a skew towards males in the 25-39 age group. The programming strategy of the channel is to provide in-depth understanding of sports icons through features and real stories.

Some of the programmes on the channel include Up Close With, In the name of Good, Untold Stories, and Sporty News.

Trace Sports CEO Laurent Dumeau said, "Trace Sports? launch on Airtel, one of India?s leading satellite operators, is another significant step in the channel?s global expansion. Thanks to our partners NDTV, we expect to announce several new launches in the coming months in India. Trace Sports? unique concept, merging entertainment and sports, is now a truly global success. In less than 18 months the channel has become available to 35 million subscribers in over 80 countries."

NDTV also has a deal with UK?s leading commercial broadcaster ITV to distribute its general entertainment channel ITV Granada in India.