Just under three months after Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra announced he was looking to induct an international media major as strategic partner, the field for possible choices has narrowed to three likely players.

Of the three names that are being mentioned, the most likely party that will take a stake is Liberty Media Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T which also holds major stakes in Discovery Communications and Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corporation, merchant banking sources say. Two other names - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc (MGM), which already has an association with Zee in Zee MGM, Zee TV‘s rechristened English movie channel, and Viacom, whose Nickelodeon is distributed by the Zee Group MSO Siticable, have also been mentioned as strong possibilities.

What Chandra‘s holding will be when and if Liberty buys into Zee will be interesting to watch. There are reports circulating that Chandra would be willing to bring down his holding in Zee to 26 per cent, which is partly the reason why the scrip has been witnessing heightened activity over the last few days.

The search for a partner for Zee is being managed by UBS Warburg in Mumbai.

The Hallmark Channel, using the platform of the popular programmes like Sesame Street, Scholastic Clifford and Caillou on its Kids Block, has teamed up with well-known publishing house Scholastic India Ltd to organise in-school educational workshops for children in over 600 schools in India.

Branded "Hallmark Kids @ School", this activity, which recently kicked off in Mumbai, will over the next six months cover schools in the five key metro cities and 15 mini metro cities in India, according to a company release.

Commenting on the launch of these new initiatives, Terence Yau, VP and Managing Director Asia Pacific said: "These shows promise to take kids across the country on fantastic, magical new adventures every day of the week. Viewer feedback reaffirmed our belief that Hallmark is best suited in providing programming for kids and is viewed as a natural extension to our core brand values - the values of Life, Love and Learning."

The Kids Block is a morning and afternoon block of children‘s programming and has recently launched a dual English and Hindi feed. The Kids Block airs 7 - 8 am in the mornings and 4 - 6 pm in the evenings on the Hallmark Channel. Sesame Street, the world‘s number 1 rated programme for kids, airs daily at 7 am, weekdays at 4pm and weekends at 11 pm; Scholastic Clifford airs every weekday at 5 pm while Caillou airs every day at 5:30 pm, the release states.