MUMBAI: In one of the biggest announcements after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out with its regulation, two months ago, that prevented aggregators from bundling channels of different broadcasters, Star Den Media services and Zee Turner have decided to part ways with distribution JV MediaPro coming to an end.
The networks will be setting up their independent affiliate sales team for their respective channels. The networks are also banking on the recent tariff hike given by TRAI as a positive boost to subscription revenues.
Zee Entertainment MD Punit Goenka said, "We had created this Joint Venture to address various anomalies in the analog market, curb piracy and introduce transparency for the benefit of all stakeholders. I must say that we have been very satisfied with the outcome of the partnership. In the last three years, with DAS getting implemented, India is truly on the path to digitization. First two phases of DAS have already been implemented. Given the new regulation, Uday and I have taken a call to continue the business at an independent level. I wish our JV partners all the very best in their future endeavors."
Star India CEO Uday Shankar added, "MediaPro has been a truly delightful and path breaking partnership. Punit and I created MediaPro with the objective of accelerating digitization, promoting transparency and introducing best practices in distribution. Thanks to the commitment of both parties the JV has delivered exceptionally well on each of these. I am proud to say that MediaPro also led the industry consensus for the most efficient way of moving to a digital domain. This in turn allowed us to offer better content to our viewers. In the light of new regulation, both partners have decided to build independent affiliate sales. I take this opportunity to compliment the entire MediaPro team lead by Arun Kapoor for creating a best-in-class organization that helped pioneer digital transformation of cable."