English Entertainment
Murdoch targets end-2006 for business channel launch
MUMBAI: News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch plans to launch a business news channel to counter CNBC. In an interview to be published in the13 February issue of Newsweek, Murdoch said the channel would be up and running by the end of 2006.
“We’re in pretty intense discussions with the biggest cable companies, and making quite considerable progress,” says Murdoch. “You can expect something fairly soon.”
Murdoch also plans to announce a $1 billion plan for adding broadband to DirecTV, the satellite- TV service he controls, by the end of the month. His combined Internet interests, he says, will add up to “a conservative $1 billion” in revenues by 2010, not counting any more acquisitions.
One venture Murdoch does not have in the works is a head-on clash with Google and Yahoo for search business, according to the Newsweek report. Murdoch does plan to enter the market “in those aspects of search where we can target different audiences for advertising. But no way will we do a frontal assault on Google and Yahoo!,” he says.
He also has no plans, for now, to offer Fox shows via iTunes as other networks have done. “We’re not knocked out by iPod so far,” he says. “We have talked to them, to Google and others. But how many people really want to get video on a tiny screen when they already have TiVo or a similar service from their cable company or DirecTV?”
And while Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone broke apart his company in order to boost its stock price, and with dissident investor Carl Icahn expected to unveil a similar plan for Time Warner this week, Murdoch maintains that splitting up is not a winning strategy. “Look at Viacom shareholders. They made little or nothing,” he says. “Look at Time Warner. They are very well run. If you split them apart, there’s no more than $1 or $2 in it for shareholders. And that’s without thinking about [capital gains] taxation … I don’t know what Icahn thinks he’s doing. Icahn has gone out on a limb. Even if he succeeds in getting it broken up, and that would be very sad, I don’t think he’d make money out of it.”
In response to recent reports of predators trolling the wildly popular MySpace.com for potential victims, Murdoch says, “We’re being very proactive. We plan to reach out further to school principals, church groups and community organizations to educate them on the safety measures we’ve developed. For example, no one under 14 is allowed to register on the site, and there are strict limits on who can access profiles of users under 16. We’ve also got a third of our workforce monitoring the site to prevent inappropriate material from being posted.”
English Entertainment
ZEE5 UK partners Narrative Entertainment to add UK channels
Six FAST channels added as platform sharpens hybrid play in Britain
LONDON: ZEE5 UK struck a first-of-its-kind deal with Narrative Entertainment, bringing mainstream UK television channels onto an Indian streaming platform as it pushes to deepen its footprint in a crowded, mature market.
The partnership adds six of Narrative’s FAST channels to the service, including Great! Movies, Great! Romance, Great! Mystery and kids brands POP, Tiny Pop and POP UP, widening ZEE5 UK’s appeal across genres and age groups.
The move reflects a clear shift in strategy. ZEE5 UK is betting on a hybrid model that blends on-demand content with curated, always-on channels to drive discovery and increase time spent on the platform.
“This partnership represents a meaningful evolution in how we serve audiences in mature markets like the UK, where viewers are defined by habits, convenience and choice rather than geography or language alone,” said Parul Goel, territory head, Europe, Zee Entertainment. “By bringing trusted mainstream UK channels together with our premium originals, movies and kids’ content, we are building a more consumer-centric platform that simplifies viewing while increasing depth and relevance.”
Fateha Begum, commercial director, Narrative Entertainment, said the tie-up would fuel growth for both sides. “Our portfolio of quality programming, with such wide and enduring appeal, is a perfect complement to ZEE5 UK. This is a strong partnership that will support growth for both parties, and we share Zee Entertainment’s vision of an increasingly partnership-led future for the industry.”
ZEE5’s global library spans over 4,000 films and more than 500 originals, with over 130 new titles added annually. The addition of Narrative’s channels strengthens its kids offering and introduces genre-led linear experiences alongside its on-demand catalogue.
The deal also gives Narrative access to ZEE5 UK’s fast-growing user base, extending reach without diluting brand identity, while reinforcing ZEE5 UK’s network of more than 40 live channels.
As streaming wars intensify, ZEE5 UK is widening its playbook, blending content, convenience and partnerships in a bid to win screen time in one of the world’s toughest markets.
