Star Tv Plans To Shift Programmes To Asiasat

After having introduced four news bulletins a day on STAR Plus, the Rupert Murdoch-controlled broadcaster may shift the news operation to Hong Kong unless a deal with VSNL and other related government agencies is struck for sending news feeds to NDTV headquarters in New Delhi.

STAR TV is also preparing the ground for assembling of decompression boxes in India so that multiple system operators (MSOs) and cable operators will be ready with the boxes for the digital pay channels by the time the channels are shifted to Asiasat-2.

According to a STAR TV study on 10,000-decoder-scheme to be distributed free, Assuming 30 % annual growth in the (Indian) cable market, we conclude that there would be a growth of 15% in July-December 96, therefore making the (cable) penetration go up to 9.98 million from 8.68 million by December 96.

 

Moreover, whether Zee Cinema will also be shifted on to Asiasat-2 to be part of a package offering NBC, CNBC and STAR Movies is another issue to be tackled.

The movie channels cannot be beamed from two different satellites as the subscription management system is common.

The ATL board meeting, being held in India for the first time, is likely to discuss issues relating to cable distribution, programming and revenue sharing.

Subhash Chandra and his associates and Murdoch-controlled News Corp have 50% equity stake each in the Hong Kong-based ATL.

With Zee and El TV having decided to pit Rajat Sharma against Pranoy Roy-anchored Star News on STAR Plus, STAR has started giving more attention to its news bulletins which these days is lacking the usual punch and does not have latest footages.

Two proposals are under consideration. First, sending of raw footages from India to Hong Kong through VSNL and then sending them back to Delhi. The hitch: difficulty in matching satellite time four times a day for bulletins and the high cost involved.

Another proposal is to shift the operation of news bulletins to Hong Kong with NDTV correspondents acting as part of the Indian bureau. The hitch: Roy or some of his colleagues may not want to shift to Hong Kong for anchoring the show.

Though both Zee and STAR top executives refused to make any official statement, sources in both the companies admitted that despite the surface bonhomie, there is an undercurrent of tension, especially because Zee thinks it is the jewel in the crown of STAR platform.