HISTORY™, the world’s leading factual entertainment channel, which debuted its India edition on October 9th

Mumbai, 20th October 2011: HISTORY™, the world’s leading factual entertainment channel, which debuted its India edition on October 9th, 2011, has opened the launch week of ratings with aplomb. With a connectivity of 50 million households across on leading cable TV platforms such as HATHWAY CABLE, IN CABLE, DEN Networks and leading DTH platforms such as TATA Sky and DISH TV, 19.8 million viewers across India tuned in to HISTORY during the first week of launch.

Cutting across segments & demographics, HISTORY had helped grow the Factual Entertainment Genre by 24% in just the first week. HISTORY also garnered significant market share in the launch week across market clusters. In All India 1mn+ (including Metros), HISTORY ranks as a strong No.2 with 24% market share vis-à-vis Discovery (32%) and Nat Geo (18%) and ahead of the other factual entertainment channels. In 6 metros, HISTORY with 29% market share vis-à-vis Discovery (32%) and Nat Geo (14%) further reduces the gap between existing players and fortifies its entry into the genre.

HISTORY also leads the factual entertainment pack in time spent per viewer with 32 mins vis-à-vis Discovery (20 mins) and Nat Geo (16 mins) which is an indication of differentiated programming and the stickiness quotient of HISTORY’s content.

Overall, in the factual entertainment genre, HISTORY ranks as a clear No. 2 across market clusters and audience groups, now in the reckoning for a leadership position in the genre.

The channel is truly living up to its promise of Making HISTORY Everyday!

Salman Khan to be the face of the channel. Heralds a new age of growth in the Factual Entertainment genre

Mumbai, October 10, 2011 HISTORY™, the world’s leading factual entertainment channel, launched its India edition as part of a joint venture between TV18 and A+E Networks. The launch is a significant milestone in the Indian media space as it marks an alliance between TV18, India’s most dynamic television media conglomerate and A&E Networks, pioneers and world leaders in factual entertainment.

HISTORY is the first in a bouquet of factual entertainment channels to be launched by the joint venture. The channel is now available in 6 languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali & Marathi) in full HD across all major markets in India and will reach out to more than 50 million households in the launch phase itself. It will be available across leading cable TV platforms such as HATHWAY CABLE, IN CABLE, DEN Networks and leading DTH platforms such as TATA Sky and DISH TV as well as other leading independent analogue and digital platforms in the country.

HISTORY has also signed on Salman Khan, Bollywood and India’s most popular movie star to be the face of the channel in a first-of-its-kind attempt to broad base the appeal of HISTORY and the factual entertainment genre.

Worldwide, the factual entertainment genre has undergone a transformation with greater emphasis on creating fact-based entertainment, thrill and action formats that appeal to a much wider audience. HISTORY has led this transformation in formats and content world-wide and the channel has reaped rich rewards by moving to the pole position in ratings and popularity, ahead of channels like Discovery, Nat Geo etc in the US and some other markets across the globe. HISTORY in India will aim to emulate this performance and appeal to mass audiences across multiple regions and languages. The channel’s promise – ‘HISTORY Made Every Day’ captures the spirit of a new programming paradigm to be introduced for the first time in India.

Speaking on the launch Abbe Raven, President & CEO, A+E Networks stated, “We have eagerly anticipated the launch of HISTORY in India, a market that represents important growth opportunities for A+E Networks’ global strategy. Since 1995, HISTORY has been entertaining viewers around the world with our innovative, original programming, becoming the leading destination for factual entertainment. We are excited to partner with TV18 to bring HISTORY to audiences in India, and believe the channel will be as successful there as it is in the US and other

Sean Cohan, VP International, A+E Networks said, “India is a critically important market to us, and we are thrilled to be launching HISTORY there in partnership with TV18. Under Ajay Chacko’s leadership, we have built a strong, talented team at A+E Networks l TV18 across programming, marketing, digital and operations. With their combined expertise I have no doubt HISTORY will be an impact player from launch.”

Raghav Bahl, Founder and Editor, TV18 added, “With an enviable record of having established leadership positions across television genres, it is time for TV18 to enter the factual entertainment space. We have always believed in making a difference in the domain that we work in and, we’re delighted to partner with A+E Networks, a global pioneer in factual entertainment channels. This venture marks an important milestone in our journey to becoming a truly integrated media and entertainment company. We believe that factual entertainment will emerge as one of the mainstays of the Indian television space”.

Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Network18 says, “We believe that the Indian market is ripe for alternative formats and that is one of the reasons for us to bring in channels like HISTORY into this market. Factual entertainment is emerging as the new preferred choice across the world and the genre has the potential to become mainstream in India as well. We are confident that HISTORY, the first product from our partnership with A+E Networks will widen the appeal of the genre and pave the way for many more initiatives in this space.”

Ajay Chacko, President, A+E Networks I TV18 says, “HISTORY’s show selection and content mix are based on exhaustive studies, content testing and feedback with a variety of audiences. HISTORY, Made Every Day, the channels position encompasses the breadth of content and themes that HISTORY brings to Indian audiences – History here is not just about the past, it’s as much about people making history today. We also hope to be able to play a pivotal role in the growth of this genre in India.”

ABOUT THE HISTORY CHANNEL IN INDIA: -
All of HISTORY’s initiatives, starting with the association with Salman Khan as the face of the channel to the number of languages and the distribution footprint are with the intention of making HISTORY a relatively mainstream entertainment alternative for Indian viewers, as it is the world over.
Through months of extensive research & testing of content, the channel has found that Indian viewers across demographics are interested in experimenting with alternative forms of content, as far as the entertainment quotient is not compromised upon. The channel is being launched with universal themes that use the premise of history but are entertaining, engaging and thrilling and would appeal to a very wide audience, including younger demographics and also discerning audiences. It will also, very shortly, announce a few big-ticket local productions that match international scale.
HISTORY is available on subscription across various platforms of mobiles, dongles and broadband in live streaming and video-on-demand formats.
The world leader in factual entertainment seems well set for a historic innings in India.

Premium ‘Investor’ focused service on DTH, Live global coverage & 24/7in-depth markets data

In a pioneering move, CNBC-TV18, India’s No. 1 business news channel, will be launching a new premium business news service, ‘CNBC-TV18 Prime HD’, focused on the needs of India’s rapidly expanding investor and financial services community. To be available in addition to the existing CNBC-TV18 channel, ‘CNBC-TV18 PRIME HD’ will be broadcast on India’s leading DTH platforms in HD quality, in effect making CNBC-TV18 the first business news channel to foray into the HD space.

The ‘CNBC-TV18 Prime HD’ service has been designed specifically to target the highly involved business news viewers and investors in the country especially CEO’s, analysts, brokers, investment professionals, fund managers and active retail participants. Fusing the power of broadcast news with the essence of the financial data terminal, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD will operate on a seamless and unique ‘2 window’ screen architecture, that will offer rich and in-depth live VIDEO and DATA content to viewers simultaneously.

The premium VIDEO content will have an expanded focus on global markets, where Indian investors will get LIVE access, starting with the Asian markets in the mornings followed by Europe in the afternoon and the US in the evening. In a rich graphics format, the DATA window will deliver a far deeper and wider gamut of financial data and news alerts to viewers across asset classes including equities, futures, commodities, currencies, bonds etc. This service will have real time capability to dynamically adjust information in the ‘Data’ window, basis the news flows of the day. Programmed live from the CNBC-TV18 national headquarters in Mumbai, the Prime HD service will harness the state of the art broadcast infrastructure of CNBC-TV18 and will be led by a dedicated team of editors and production personnel.

Commenting on this service, Anil Uniyal, CEO – CNBC-TV18 & CNBC Awaaz said "CNBC-TV18 Prime HD is a product of key fundamental trends already evident in India. A rapid evolution of financial services, a rise in globalised mindsets and a growing investing culture coupled with the imminent growth in broadcast digitization and demand for premium content. This has allowed us to deliver a targeted service for the discerning business viewers, giving them the best in the markets with state of the art production values. With this new service in our portfolio, we hope to offer viewers almost a financial terminal like access on TV and a much wider bouquet of global programming, never accessed by Indian investors before".

‘CNBC-TV18 Prime HD’, will launch into service for Indian Investors during ‘Mahurat trading’ on Diwali day, October 26th. At launch, the channel is available on DISH TV (Channel Number 76) and AIRTEL DTH (Channel Number 320) and will be ‘Commercial free’ initially. In the coming weeks, ‘CNBC-TV18 Prime HD’ is expected to be available on other DTH platforms as well.

Network18 channels, including CNN-IBN and IBN Lokmat,

Network18 channels, including CNN-IBN and IBN Lokmat, swept the News Television awards on Thursday in New Delhi. IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai bagged the Best TV News Presenter Award once again. While CNN-IBN received 18 awards, 12 awards in Marathi went to IBN Lokmat, followed by three for CNBC-TV 18 and two for IBN7.

The winners are:

• CNN-IBN's Rajdeep Sardesai for India @ 9 : Best TV news presenter of the year After winning the award, Rajdeep Sardesai said, "It's a very challenging job. Every day is a new challenge".
• CNN-IBN's Karan Thapar for Devil's Advocate and The Last Word : Best TV News Anchor (English)
• CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate : Best Current Affairs Programme (Home and International)
• CNN-IBN¹s Face the Nation hosted by Sagarika Ghose : Best popular News Show After winning the award, Sagarika Ghosh said, "I am delighted to get the award its a provocative show and an angry show we are trying to make it enjoyable".
• CNN-IBN's 30 Minutes - The Ghost of Ayodhya : Best Current Affairs Feature
• Best TV News Reporter (English) - Bhupendra Chaubey (for Ayodhya coverage and CWG coverage)
• CNN-IBN's Rajiv Masand : Best entertainment critic award
• CNN-IBN's Priyali Sur : Best Young TV Journalist English
• CNN-IBN's Indian Sports Legends Awards : Best Sports Feature English
• CNN-IBN's The Big Cricket Debate : Best Sports News Show
• CNN-IBN's Medical Council of India Scam : Best Investigative News Report
• CNN-IBN's India 360 - Big Bang 2 : Best Technology Based Show
• CNN-IBN's Real Heroes : Best Social Development Campaign
• CNN-IBN's Rate The Budget : Best Business Talk Show
• CNN-IBN's Axe The Tax : Best Business News Feature
• CNN-IBN's Now Showing : Best Entertainment News Show
• CNN-IBN's 30 Minutes - On Death Row : Best Crime Show
• CNN-IBN's Living it Up : Best Lifestyle and Fashion Show
• IBN7's Zindagi Live on child sex abuse : Best News Talk Show
• IBN7's Budget 2010 : Promo Campaign of the Year
• CNBC Awaaz's Tech Guru : Best Technology Based Show
• CNBC Awaaz's Pehla sauda : Best live show in Hindi
• CNBC Awaaz's Awaaz Entrepreneur : Best Feature in Hindi
• CNBC TV18's Overdrive : Autoshow
• CNBC TV18's Udayan Mukherjee : Best Business Anchor
• CNBC TV18's Story Board (Piyush Pandey episode) : Promo Campaign
• IBN Lokmat's 'Chupher Bhrart' show : Best Entertainment features
• IBN Lokmat's Reportage : 'Aabhaal Peltana' : Best Documentory
• IBN Lokmat - Best Social Contribution - Garja Maharashtra : 'Bhatke vimukta'
• IBN Lokmat's Vinay Mhatre for his report named as Toldhaad : Best Investigative News Report
• IBN Lokmat's ' Kalima Manuskila' : Best Investigative Features
• IBN Lokmat's ' Khelasathi Sara Kahi' : Best Sports Features
• IBN Lokmat - Best Prime time News Show award
• IBN Lokmat's Prime Time bulitin award : Best promo award
• IBN Lokmat news channel : Best Promo campaign award
• IBN Lokmat - 'Ganesh festival Campaign promo ' award
• CNBC Awaaz’s Tech Guru : Best Technology Based Show
• Vinod Dua (NDTV India) : Best prime-time news cast
• Parimal Kumar (NDTV India) : TV news reporter award
• Deepak Chaurasia (Star News) : Best TV news presenter of the year

India’s first and leading home shopping channel

has been conferred the CEO of the Year Award 2011 at the 7th edition of the coveted Reid & Taylor Awards for Retail Excellence – a part of Asia Retail Congress. HomeShop18 has also been presented with the Retail Leadership Award and Innovative Retail Concept of the Year for their outstanding contribution in the Retail sector.
The award recognizes Mr. Sundeep Malhotra’s pioneering vision in the virtual retail and for establishing a credible home shopping industry in India. The idea of Home Shopping was initially received with skepticism and mistrust, but Mr. Malhotra with his keen insight & relentless belief in the business model, worked hard towards creating and developing India’s most credible shopping channel. Keeping the customer’s needs at the core, he has successfully made HomeShop18 well known in over 3000 cities across India and created a solid customer base of over 3.5 million customers.

On being awarded with the “CEO of the Year Award”, Sundeep Malhotra, CEO HomeShop18, said, “We are elated on the achievement; the recognition bestowed upon us by Asia Retail Congress is very encouraging. We are enthused by the response from the market as well as the retail fraternity and this would only fuel our passion to deliver the best. HomeShop18 is certainly changing the way India shops. It is helping drive consumerism, creating demand for producers and suppliers. We attribute our success to the dedicated team at HomeShop18 and our customers who have shown unwavering faith and confidence in HomeShop18 to bring best of the brands at great value, since its inception."

Reid & Taylor Retailer is a business award presented to exclusive brands or multi-brand retailers from the world of fashion, food, beauty, leisure, entertainment and others; who have shown exceptional growth and expansion within the boundaries of its operation in the previous year. These awards aim at recognizing the growing impact of retail and aim to discus and influence the issues of change

A pioneer of the home shopping space in India, HomeShop18 has set benchmarks for excellence in modern retailing. Today, HomeShop18 offers over 450 reputed brands such as Whirlpool, Samsung, Reebok, Lee, Spice, Sony, Sia and many more who have chosen HomeShop18 as an Alternative Distribution Platform. HomeShop18 has seen a growth of 124% (FY10 over FY09) and is confident of achieving bigger benchmarks in the current year. Today, HomeShop18 has a team of over 650 members, selling more than 1, 00,000 SKUs which are distributed across 3000 towns and cities in India. Selling across different product categories like electronics, apparel, jewellery, appliances, books, etc., the channel gets a new customer every 6 seconds

To drive Advertising sales for India’s Largest News Network

Sanjay Dua, Chief Operating Officer and Head, IBN Media Operations has been assigned the mandate to lead Network18 News Media Network, the Group’s specialized client facing sales division which manages the advertising sales interests of its five News channels. Dua will take over his new mandate with immediate effect.

In his new role, Dua will be spearhead the Group’s effort towards consolidating and optimizing revenue growth across its five market leading news channels (CNBC-TV18, CNBC AWAAZ, CNN-IBN, IBN 7 and IBN-Lokmat), spanning the full spectrum of General News, Business News and Regional News brands. Dua will lead the strategic focus on enhancing revenue effectiveness through innovative and scaled up network wide media solutions and an expansion in client categories and yields. As an additional responsibility, he has been entrusted with the task of overseeing sales for the soon-to-be-launched network of channels from AETN18, Network18’s recently announced JV with A&E Television Networks. Earlier, Dua was specifically responsible for identifying and capitalizing on sales growth opportunities at the IBN general news channels of the group.

While the News Media Network will continue to reflect the Group’s focus on individual news brands via dedicated teams and sales leaders aligned to each channel, it will now bring together all the leading News assets to exploit opportunities in the evolving competitive environment.

Sanjay Dua has over 20 years of corporate experience, of which the last 15 years have been in media & entertainment. In the past, Dua has led sales strategy for the country’s leading media brands across a gamut of genres including sports (ESPN), GECs (Sahara) & English entertainment (Hallmark). Prior to joining Network18, Dua led national sales at the Zee News Network apart from leadership stints at Walt Disney and Bennett & Coleman. Dua is a management graduate from Lucknow University and holds a management qualification from Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA).

Speaking on this development, B.Saikumar, Group COO, Network18 commented “We believe that the market is evolving rapidly, throwing up unique opportunities. Sanjay’s mandate is to leverage the strengths of the News Network even while retaining unwavering focus on each individual channel brand. Sanjay brings with him enviable leadership and depth of experience and will drive and innovation to maximize revenues.’

Sanjay Dua added “I believe that the News space in India is poised for a new phase of expansion and as market leader, with the highest share of influential audiences Network18 is best placed to lead it. We believe substantial opportunities exist to achieve this by collaborating and synergizing across our News Network to deliver sustained value to our clients and partners. Network 18 presently has the country’s best sales talent across levels and I look forward to working with all the teams and sales leaders to achieve our ambitious revenue goals.’

Network 18 had earlier made key CEO appointments across its channels – Ajay Chacko, President AETN18, Anil Uniyal, CEO CNBC-TV18 and CNBC AWAAZ, Dilip Venkatraman, CEO CNN-IBN. The News Media Network will play the role of a centralized sales agency and will work closely with the channel teams and be aligned with the P & L goals of each of the channels.

To drive the next level of growth for India’s No.1 English News Channel

N. Dilip Venkatraman, CMO, CNN-IBN, IBN7, IBN-Lokmat & COO, IBN Focus, has been assigned the mandate to lead Network18's English News Channel, CNN-IBN as CEO, with immediate effect. In his new role, Venkatraman will be responsible for the strategic, financial and operational management of India’s No.1 English News Channel. Earlier, he was leading marketing operations for all existing and upcoming IBN channels and managing IBN Focus, the alternative media solutions unit for the channels. Apart from his leadership role in building CNN-IBN, IBN7 & IBN-Lokmat into the country’s leading news brands, Venkatraman is known for conceptualizing benchmark properties at the Network including CNN-IBN Indian of the Year, Real Heroes, IBN7 Diamond States Awards, Citizen Journalist Awards and IBN7 Super Idols.

Venkatraman has over 19 years of corporate experience and prior to joining Network18, he held leadership positions at the India Today Group and Zee Network. Winner of the ‘Indian Marketing Award’, Venkatraman is a graduate in public administration and holds management qualifications from IIM Bangalore and Harvard Business School.

Speaking on this development, B.Saikumar, Group COO, Network18 commented "We believe that the English news market is poised for tremendous growth and CNN IBN would be best placed to lead this emerging trend. In Dilip, we entrust the responsibility of managing this growth, ensuring sustained profitability and leading the drive to further enhance the brand’s equity and audience franchise”

On this occasion, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-In-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7, IBN-Lokmat said “Dilip has been a core member of the team instrumental in building the IBN news network into a leadership position, beginning with the launch of CNN-IBN in 2005. His remarkable success in communicating our values of inclusive journalism has helped us grow CNN-IBN into a clear leader in English news and ensured that CNN-IBN, IBN 7 & IBN Lokmat evolve into the stellar editorial brands that they are today and we’re confident that he’ll continue to contribute immensely in the next level of growth for CNN-IBN”

Dilip Venkatraman added "I believe that, right from the outset, CNN-IBN has set the agenda for news in the country with its unique brand of inclusive and passionate journalism which has inturn powered its growth. I hope to work closely with the channel team to further strengthen our editorial and market leadership”

He will report into Sai kumar, Group COO, Network 18. Till now he was COO, Network18 Media & Business Head, TV18 Media Operations.

Anil Uniyal, COO, Network18 Media & Business Head, TV18 Media Operations, has been assigned the mandate to lead Network18's business news channels, CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ as CEO, with immediate effect. In his new role, Uniyal will be responsible for the strategic, financial and operational management of India’s No.1 business news network and will report into Sai kumar, Group COO, Network 18. Earlier, Anil was leading the commercial arm of the Group, Network18 Media with responsibilities for driving the topline for the CNBC Channels and Forbes India. Anil Uniyal brings over a decade of experience in sales and sales strategy and has been with Network18 since 2001. Anil has played a leadership role in building different revenue verticals for Network18 – from inventory sales to setting up the customized solutions business for the CNBC Channels and other business brands in the Group. Anil began his career as an entrepreneur, running a media services and consulting enterprise.

Speaking on this development, B.Saikumar, Group COO, Network18 said “Anil has been one of the key executives involved in the growth of Network18's business news channels – CNBC TV18 and CNBC AWAAZ since their respective launches. He is now expected to steer the channels into a whole new phase of leadership and profitability and I am sure that he will be equal to this challenge.”

Anil Uniyal added “I believe that, as in the last decade, CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ will lead a new phase of innovation and growth in the business news space and I look forward to working with the channel editorial and business teams to further strengthen our market leadership”

Till now Chacko was Director – TV18 Business Media & COO – New Media Projects for TV18 and CEO, Forbes India.

Network18 and A&E Television Networks (AETN) has appointed Ajay Chacko as President of AETN18 MEDIA PVT. LTD, the recently announced joint venture between AETN and Network18.

Based in Mumbai, Chacko will be responsible for the day-to-day operational, strategic and financial management of the joint venture and its suite of channels and services.

AETN18 plans to launch HISTORY™, BIO™, Crime & Investigation Network™ and other popular AETN entertainment channels in the Indian market. The timeline for these launches is expected to be announced shortly.

B. Saikumar, Group COO, Network18 said “The entertainment space in India is ripe for a new phase of growth and I believe that Ajay will play a significant role in making AETN18 a leader of that trend. I am confident of his ability to seed media brands, establish them and create leadership. This, coupled with his intimate understanding of the broadcast space will help AETN18 achieve the objective of creating India’s leading factual entertainment network and in the process, expand the genre.”

“Ajay brings a very successful track record as a leader and a wealth of knowledge about the Indian market to the venture,” said Sean Cohan, Senior Vice President, AETN International. “With him at the ‘helm’, we are well-positioned to realize our shared vision of strong and vibrant entertainment services in India.”

Ajay Chacko said, “I believe that the Indian factual entertainment opportunity is truly compelling, with the twin forces of evolving viewer tastes and digitization driving demand for such content to an inflection point. At AETN18, our focus will be to unleash the power of globally acclaimed brands such as History, BIO, Crime & Investigation Network with programming that resonates with Indian viewers. I’m looking forward to working with the business and content team in our journey to create India’s leading factual entertainment group.”

With a career spanning over 15 years, Ajay Chacko has rich experience across a variety of roles in sales, marketing & general management within the media and entertainment and services industry. During his tenure at Network18 over the past 7 years, Chacko played a critical role in steering CNBC TV18, CNBC AWAAZ and Forbes India to leadership positions. Prior to joining the group, Chacko worked with leading majors in media and financial services in various capacities involving stints with IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, India), Sharekhan and the Indian Express Group.

Headquartered in New York, AETN is a global media company whose brand portfolio includes A&E™ Network, HISTORY™, Lifetime, BIO™, Crime & Investigation Network™, Military History™, Lifetime Movie Network™, History International™, History en espanol™ and Lifetime Real Women™. Outside the US, AETN’s 44 channels and blocks reach over 250 million TV households in more than 150 countries. Internationally, AETN deploys its brands and content via channels, content sales, digital media distribution and home entertainment/electronic sell through.

AETN is the fastest growing pay television group in the United States operating two of the top five Pay TV networks – HISTORY™ and A&E™ Network, and the number one women’s network, Lifetime. HISTORY™ has been the number one factual channel in the US since 2009.

Reaching over 250 million Indians cumulatively every month, Network18 group owns and operates India’s premier bouquet of TV channels through the country’s largest news network and the fastest growing entertainment network housing CNBC-TV18, CNBC AWAAZ, CNN-IBN, IBN 7, IBN-Lokmat, Colors, MTV, VH1, Nick, HomeShop18. Apart from this, the group has a market leading presence in web and mobile, special interest publishing and retail space and operates a suite of specialized service businesses in sports, events, data services and investments. Network18 recently forayed into the TV distribution space through a pioneering distribution alliance with the Sun Group. The new entity, Sun18, will be the first truly pan-India distribution company and is slated to emerge as one of the country’s largest distribution entities.

'Sun18' – India’s first truly pan-India distribution entity

Launch a new bouquet comprising Viacom18 channels, Network18 channels, Disney channels & Twenty Sun TV Network channels

Network18 Group, India's largest News Network and leading full-play media conglomerate and Sun Network, India's largest media conglomerate, today announced their strategic alliance to launch one of India’s biggest distribution entities. The new entity, to be called Sun18, will be the first truly pan-India distribution company and aims to become one of the dominant players in the approx Rs. 16,000 crore pay-tv subscription market, over the next 2 years. This alliance also marks the entry of Network18 Group into the Indian television distribution space.

As part of the agreement, to begin with, Sun18 will distribute a total of 33 channels across all platforms in India via all networks including cable, DTH, IPTV, HITS and MMDS from :

- Network18 - India’s largest News Network, comprising CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18, CNBC-Awaaz, IBN-7 and IBN-Lokmat

- Viacom18 - India’s fastest growing entertainment network, comprising COLORS, MTV, Nick and Vh1

- Sun Network – India’s largest multilingual network comprising SUN TV, KTV, Sun News, Sun Music, Chutti TV, Adithya, Gemini TV, Teja TV, Gemini   News, Gemini Music, Navvulu TV, Kushi TV, Surya TV, Kiran TV, Udaya TV, Udaya Movies, U2, Udaya Varthegalu, Ushe TV and Chintu TV

- Disney India Network – one of India’s leading kids network, comprising The Disney Channel, Disney XD and Hungama TV

With these 33 channels, the Sun18 bouquet is already the highest GRP delivering bouquet in the Indian television space. The option to aggregate third party channels is also one of the opportunities this venture will seek to explore.

As part of the strategic alliance, the business has been structured uniquely, whereby two new companies are being formed – Sun18 Media Services North Co. and Sun18 Media Services South Co. While Sun18 South will manage the South India market (non Hindi-speaking-markets) and will be operated by the Sun Network, Sun18 North will manage the rest of India markets and will be operated by the Network18 Group. Sun18 North will be headed by Haresh Chawla (Group CEO - Network18 and Viacom18) as its CEO & Director. Rajesh Kamat (Group COO – Viacom18 & CEO - COLORS), will be the COO of Sun18 North. Sun18 South will be headed by Tony D’Silva as its CEO.

Speaking about the partnership, Raghav Bahl, Founder, Network18 Group, said, "This partnership extends Network18's presence into yet another critical component of the Indian television & entertainment space. In Sun Group, we've found a partner that not only complements our own strengths, but is also as ambitious to change the landscape of the Indian broadcasting industry." He further added, “Distribution is one of the high-growth areas in this industry and we’re excited to now have a presence in this part of the business as well.”

Mr. Kalanithi Maran, Chariman & Managing Director, SUN Network, said “SUN18 is a very important initiative for us in the distribution platform business and is being created with the vision of better leveraging our very successful television brands across the country. Network 18 is one of the best managed Media enterprises in India and in them we believe we have found an alliance partner to fuel our distribution plans for the rest of the country. The content assets and resources of SUN TV Network and Network 18, will enable us to continue to thrive in an ever-changing media landscape. Consumers of all of our products – on screens large and small – will have the benefit of enhanced content and experiences, delivered to them in new and better ways as a result of this initiative. It also signals our deep commitment to drive greater growth from subscription revenues.”

Commenting on Sun18, Haresh Chawla said, "Given the significance of distribution in the television business, we’re excited to set up our own operations through an alliance with the Sun Network, to unlock the huge potential of this domain.” He further added, “The Sun18 bouquet is going to be the highest GRP delivering bouquet in the industry – with Network18’s News channels that are leaders in their respective categories, Viacom18’s vibrant brands and the clout of SUN’s multilingual channels.” According to Haresh, “This unique alliance will bridge one of the widest gaps that has existed in the Indian television space for long – the gap between the South and the rest-of-India markets.”

Tony D Silva said "The setting up of this Joint Distribution Network is a unique structure in the history of pay distribution in India, and will go a long way in driving maximum benefit to all in the value chain”Ajay Vidyasagar, Chief Operating Officer of Sun TV Network said: “The ability to engage with a customer to market sun TV and Colors - India’s largest regional Television brand and India’s most exciting Hindi GEC brand respectively - is one of the opportunities through SUN18 that we are very excited about. The thirty three channels that this combine will go to market with present an opportunity to reset the value chain and create a new way of working in India’s Distribution landscape. We look forward to strengthening this exciting association with Network 18 over time”

The 33 channels distributed by Sun18 include
COLORS, MTV, Nick, Vh1, Homeshop18, CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18, CNBC-Awaaz, IBN-7, IBN-Lokmat, The Disney Channel, Disney XD, Hungama TV, SUN TV, KTV, Sun News, Sun Music, Chutti TV, Adithya, Gemini TV, Teja TV, Gemini News, Gemini Music, Navvulu TV, Kushi TV, Surya TV, Kiran TV, Udaya TV, Udaya Movies, U2, Udaya Varthegalu, Ushe TV and Chintu TV.

About SUN Network Ltd.:
Sun Network, India's largest media conglomerate has Twenty TV Channels with a reach of more than 95 million households in India. Sun Network's channels can be viewed in 27 countries including U.S.A, Canada, Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It also has 45 FM Radio Stations, four Magazines and two Daily News Papers - Dinakaran the No.1 morning Tamil daily news paper with sales of over 1.2 million copies a day, and Tamil Murasu the No.1 evening daily in Tamil. It has one of India’s biggest DTH brands ‘Sun Direct’, one of the largest DTH service providers in India having more than 5.3 million subscribers.

About Network18
Network18[BSE: 532798,NSE: Network18] is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, print, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18) [BSE: 532299, NSE: TV-18], Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs one of India’s largest Internet players - Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time financial information and news terminals - Newswire18. TV18 has expanded into print with Infomedia18, an entity following the acquisition of Infomedia, India's leading player in the special interest publishing and printing operations space. Through its holding in ibn18 Broadcast Ltd (ibn18) [BSE: 532800,NSE: ibn18], Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with leading general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7 and has launched IBN Lokmat, a Marathi news channel in partnership with the Lokmat group. ibn18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18 which houses the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group’s filmed entertainment operation and ‘Colors’, the country’s leading Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group’s online & on-air home shopping venture, Homeshop18, its full spectrum events management venture, E18 and its sports management & marketing division, Sports18. In a pioneering foray, the group recently launched Forbes India, the nation's first local edition of a foreign news magazine title and the world’s most influential business brand, in collaboration with Forbes Media. For more information, log on to www.network18online.com

Unveils Special Anniversary Collectors issue on "One Idea that can change the World"

Exclusive Contributions from stellar panel of global thought leaders & finest business minds

Forbes India, India’s most influential business magazine, celebrates its first anniversary today. To commemorate the occasion, it has unveiled a SPECIAL 1st ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR’S ISSUE, consisting of an unprecedented feature where 25 of the world’s finest minds have exclusively written on the theme of the issue – “What is the one idea that could change the world?”

This stellar constellation of global thought leaders and pioneers has been drawn from a variety of disciplines including business pioneers such as Anand Mahindra( Vice Chairman & MD,Mahindra Group),Tarun Khanna(Professor of Strategy, Harvard Business School), Tony Fernandes (Group CEO,Air Asia) and noted thought leaders, humanitarians and authors such as Mohammad Yunus( Nobel laureate & Founder,Grameen Bank), Bianca Jagger(Human Rights Activist), Thomas Davenport (Management thinker and consultant), Dan Ariely(Noted behavioral economist & author) and more.

The Forbes India 1st Anniversary Special Issue was presented at an event in Landmark at Lower Parel, Mumbai amongst a power packed audience of corporate honchos, thought leaders and those who have contributed to the anniversary issue and featured within the magazine. The magazine was unveiled by actor Mr. Aamir Khan along with Mr. Arun Maira (Member, Planning Commission & Ex-Head, Boston Consulting Group India) and Mr. Raghav Bahl (Founder & Editor, Network18) and this was followed by a special discussion on the theme of “Ideas that could change the world”, moderated by Mr.Senthil Chengalvarayan (President & Editorial Director,TV18 Business Media). This discussion will be broadcast on the “Forbes India Show” on CNBC-TV18 on May 29th at Saturday at 12:30 pm and Sunday 10 pm

Speaking on the occasion Mr.Ajay Chacko, CEO, Forbes India said “It has been a momentous year for Forbes India. As India’s first ever local edition of a foreign news magazine, the expectations from Forbes India were immense and we’re glad that the team has delivered on them. Despite launching amidst an economic slowdown, Forbes India is today India’s most influential business chronicler and a sharp editorial product that combines the global prowess and legacy of brand Forbes with a unique local Indian sensitivity. Forbes India’s rise is a testimony to the growing demand for a truly glocal product that appeals to the large swathe of discerning and aware Indian readers”

Mr. Indrajit Gupta, Editor, Forbes India added “We believe that the First anniversary special issue epitomizes what Forbes India has stood for in the last year: thought leadership and influence.  The 25 top thinkers around the world have contributed an essay on one Big Idea to Change the World. Never before has such a galaxy of fine minds graced the pages of an Indian magazine. We will continue to adopt the intellectual high ground with meaningful, impactful content that reinforce our position as a drama critic of Indian business."

Since its launch, Forbes India has rapidly emerged as one of the most influential publications in the country through path breaking editorial pieces that have impacted policy and business circles. From its focus on India’s biggest corporate captains to its special investigative piece on the Osian Art Fund, from the succession plans at Infosys to its well acclaimed piece on foreign universities setting up Indian operations, Forbes India has traversed a variety of themes and issues which have been widely welcomed by its readers.

When launched, Forbes India was the most successful magazine launch ever at leading retail chains like Landmark and Crossword. Since then, it has consistently been amongst the top 3 bestsellers in its genre at these leading outlets. 

Further, to commemorate the anniversary, Forbes India also announced a special “Anniversary Subscription Offer” where a fortunate subscriber could win a Mercedes-Benz and all subscribers get assured premium gifts including an exclusive golf putter set & a limited edition wine & cheese set.

About Forbes India:
Forbes India, a Network18 venture in partnership with Forbes Media LLC, is India’s leading business magazine that helps readers understand the phenomenon behind news, connect the dots and get cutting-edge perspectives. Its senior editorial team has more than 200 person-years of experience and produces a compelling package of short newsy features, in-depth articles and lifestyle stories every two weeks. Headed by Editor Indrajit Gupta, the team has made Forbes India the most sought-after and credible business magazine since its launch on May 21, 2009.

About Landmark:
Landmark, India’s largest book and music retailer launched its National Flagship store in Mumbai on 4th May 2010 at Palladium in High Street Phoenix Mills. Landmark marked its presence in Mumbai with its first store at Infiniti Mall in April, 2006 and has grown considerably over the years. Today, the new Landmark store at High Street Phoenix boasts the largest floor space of 42,000 sq. ft on a single floor and houses the largest collection of books, music, movies and much more ever to be assembled under one roof, with a well equipped gaming zone and an exclusive playing area for kids. This store presents the best of books, music and childrens’ events to its customers. Landmark has already set he ball rolling by creating history in hosting the worldwide launch of Jeffrey Archer’s latest piece of work “And Thereby Hangs a Tale” With such interesting events, Landmark is not just about a store selling books, rather it is   truly about building a generation of well-informed people.

For further details please contact:
Percept Profile, Mumbai
Vivek Kotian
+91 9820310487
Percept Profile

Durgesh Goswami
+91 9820284823
Percept Profile