MUMBAI: UTV Bindass, the youth channel from the UTV Group, is launching a new non-fiction drama series The Khan Sisters, which allows its viewers to take a sneak peek in to the real lifestyle of B-town sisters Gauahar & Nigaar Khan.

Premiering on 19 November, the show will be aired every Saturday at 7 pm.

The show consists of 13 episodes, showcasing a mixture of reality and drama. It brings to fore the lives the sisters lead in Mumbai, Delhi and Dubai- the love, the fights and the differences in their lives.

UTV Bindass business head Keith Alphonso said, "The treatment of the show is refreshingly different from anything else that you would have seen before on Indian television. With this show we aim to redefine the reality genre. The Khan Sisters is all about discovering the unseen side of the reel stars. I am sure the audience would love to get a sneak peek into their lives."

The show is a window into their private world of the two sisters. It?s about all those unspoken territories that happen in a celebrity?s life. As the show progresses, it will go on to divulge the developments that take shape in the lives of the Khan sisters and their family, all of this while the camera rolls on.

MUMBAI: UTV Software Communications is launching UTV Stars simultaneously in India and the Middle East from 19 August.

UTV has collaborated with telecom operator and TV services provider Etisalat for the channel?s launch in the Middle East.

With the launch of the new channel, UTV strengthens its presence in UAE through Etisalat which also showcases UTV Bindass and UTV Movies in the region.

UTV Stars is the first Indian High Definition Bollywood Entertainment channel to be telecast in the UAE.

Said UTV CEO-Broadcasting MK Anand, ?The launch of UTV Stars reiterates our understanding of what the audiences need and our endeavor to fulfill that need gap by giving them exclusive and never seen before Bollywood content. UAE is a very important market as it has a large Indian diaspora which is crucial to tap and Etisalat provides the perfect platform to reach out to them. This will be the first time that an Indian channel will be simultaneously launched in India and UAE ensuring maximum reach from day one. It also gives us immense pleasure to be the first Indian Bollywood Entertainment channel to launch in High Definition in UAE and target the chunk of Bollywood enthusiasts residing in the region. ?

Etisalat is the first operator in the region to offer UTV Stars to its customers in the UAE as part of its ?eLife TV Basic Asian? choice package.

UTV Stars is a mass specialty entertainment channel, dedicated exclusively to Bollywood.

Etisalat CEO Rashid Sahoo Humaid said: ?We are very pleased to welcome UTV Stars on our platform. The addition of this first High Definition Bollywood Entertainment channel further strengthens our repertoire of entertainment options provided to our valuable customers and also substantiates our commitment to offer the best-in-class TV entertainment to our viewers.?

MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company proposes to take full control and delist UTV Software Communications with a Rs 20.13 billion offer to buy out the public shareholders and the founder-promoters.

The Walt Disney Company (Southest Asia) Pte is making an offer at a ceiling price of Rs 1000 per share for the remaining 49.56 per cent that will give the global media giant complete hold of UTV‘s movie making, television broadcasting and gaming businesses. This is 11 per cent above the previous day‘s closing share price of UTV.

The only entity where Disney will still have to share with a local partner is Indiagames, the online and mobile gaming company where UTV holds around 60 per cent stake. Disney may decide to sell UTV‘s stake in Indiagames, the company founded by Vishal Gondal. 

Ronnie Screwvala and his associates will reap a harvest of Rs 8.05 billion after exiting from the media company that they founded way back in 1990. They hold 8.053 million shares, or 19.82 per cent, of the company.

With Disney holding 20.497 million shares, or 50.44 per cent, of UTV Software Communications, the aggregate promoter holding stands at 70.26 per cent.

UTV is currently listed in Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. 

Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported in June that Disney was planning to buy out UTV.

After the completion of the buyout, Screwvala will take charge as the managing director of The Walt Disney Company in India. He will be responsible for overseeing the Indian businesses of the companies owned and managed by the Disney Group.

Disney entered the Indian market late as a broadcaster in children‘s entertainment, pulled back by a deal that it had with Lalit Modi‘s company, Modi Entertainment Network. In 2006, Disney acquired a 15 per cent stake in UTV and kids channel Hungama for a combined investment of $44.5 million. Then it subsequently upped its stake progressively to 50.44 per cent, accumulating pieces of the broadcasting business that included youth channel UTV Bindass, Hindi movie channel UTV Movies, UTV Action and World Movies.

Shares of UTV closed Tuesday at Rs 950.45 on the BSE, up 5.39 per cent from its previous close.

"Disney will pump in investments and get more aggressive in the Indian market where it lags behind the other global media companies like News Corp (Star), Sony and Viacom which runs a joint venture with TV18 Group," says a media analyst.