Mumbai / Hyderabad, 11 February 2015 – Viewers of Telugu Entertainment content are in for a treat! Star India and Maa Television Network today announced a deal under which Star India will acquire the broadcast business of Maa Television Network. This opens up an opportunity for major creative content innovation in the Telugu television market.
The acquisition would give Star India access to the highly attractive Telugu TV market (the second largest regional market in India in terms of revenue potential) and a market where Star has a very limited presence till date. Maa Television Network is the number one broadcast network in Telugu language content and has a strong trajectory of growth driven by fiction content and movies.
The strategic deal will come into effect upon complying with the necessary regulatory formalities and the broadcast business of Maa TV will be integrated with the business of Star India, once the policies and procedures in the acquired broadcast business of Maa TV are aligned with those at Star India.
Star India, a unit of 21st Century Fox, has pioneered content innovation across markets and categories. With an expansion into regional markets like Bengal with Star Jalsha – Star enhanced the quality of the creative eco-system bringing in high quality content into underserved regional markets. In the category of Sports – Star took cricket deeper with language content and triggered a multi-sports culture with the resurrection and repackaging of Kabaddi and the launch of a football revolution with Indian Super League. Star has redefined entertainment content with “nayi soch” (new thinking) or progressive drama and drove television as a catalyst of social change with “Satyamev Jayate”. With the expansion into the Telugu market Star looks to continue its tradition of innovation in content, building on the strong track record established by the team at Maa Television Network.
“The Telugu market is an important market however the pace of innovation has been slow. We are keen to change this by acquiring a local presence and fundamentally changing the content quality paradigm. We were very impressed by the solid creative core and quality and depth of the management team at Maa Television Network. In a short span of time they have built a leading business which is poised to take the next leap. The acquisition fills a vital gap in our portfolio allowing our advertisers targeted access to a critical market” said Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India.
“The strategic decision to align with Star India and be part of a global media group will be a big leap in our efforts to take the Maa TV Network to the next level and strengthen the positioning of Maa brand in the entertainment industry. Star’s leadership in Indian media and entertainment industry and its parent company’s proven expertise in media business on global scale will enable Maa to offer more innovative, rich and differentiated entertainment content to the Telugu Diaspora worldwide” said Nimmagadda Prasad, Chairman, Maa Television Network.
“We see a lot of synergies and complementary strengths emanating from the strategic deal and it will be a win-win proposition for Maa and Star. Telugu TV viewers will stand to gain significantly from this initiative through greater access to a wide variety of qualitative entertainment content”, Prasad added.
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About STAR India
STAR India has defined India’s broadcast media for over two decades and is today one of the country’s leading media and entertainment companies. It broadcasts more than 40 channels in 7 languages, reaching more than 720 million viewers every week across India and 100 countries. The network’s entertainment channel portfolio includes Star Gold, Channel V, Star World, Star Movies, Star Utsav, Life OK, Movies OK and Star Plus, India’s No. 1 General Entertainment Channel. It has a leading presence in regional broadcasting as well, through a bouquet of affiliate channels which includes Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies, Star Pravah, Asianet, Asianet Plus, Suvarna, Suvarna Plus and Vijay.
STAR India is making quantum leaps in transforming sports in the country by leveraging the group’s strengths in superior content and audience engagement. STAR’s sports business has grown rapidly to 8 channel properties (STAR Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 and STAR Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4), making it the leading sports network in the country.
With our viewers on the move, Star is set to drive the agenda on digital content consumption in the country. starsports.com has redefined the future of sports consumption in India and now hotstar.com brings your favourite TV shows, movies and sports in one destination.
Star India is a fully owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.
About MAA Television Network
Based in Hyderabad, India, MAA TV is a leading Telugu TV Channel network known for its vibrant, innovative, pleasant and interactive programming.
Nimmagadda Prasad, an accomplished first-generation entrepreneur, and prominent film personalities K. Chiranjeevi, Akkineni Nagarjuna and Allu Arvind are the main promoters of Maa TV Network.
With a bouquet of four channels, namely maa, maa Music, maa Movies and maa Gold, Maa TV Network stands out from the cluster of TV channels through its unique programming quality and content. With several strategic initiatives in the last few years, Maa TV has redefined the Telugu General Entertainment Channel (GEC) space.
With its pleasant and wholesome entertainment programs aimed at complete family viewing, Maa TV has not only emerged as the No.1 Telugu GEC, but is also positioned among the top 20 TV channels in the country today in terms of viewership ratings.