TV18, Viacom set to sign joint venture: report

Mumbai: Media major TV18 group is entering into an agreement with US entertainment major Viacom to float a general entertainment joint venture. The Rs500-crore joint venture is likely to be signed on May 22 during the visit of Viacom CEO and president Phillipe P Dauman.

Viacom will transfer its popular music channel MTV in India to the 50:50 joint venture, reports quoting sources familiar with the developments said.

Both Viacom and TV18 group officials declined to either confirm or deny the move.

TV 18 is India''s major news and information network, operating in the television and internet space. It broadcasts four round-the-clock news channels and deploys content across multiple platforms like Television, Internet, mobile and voice.

Viacom owns some of the world''s best-known cable networks, including MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Spike TV, TV Land and CMT. The company operates more than 100 networks around the world and also owns the Hollywood studio Paramount Pictures.

For the year ended December 2006, Viacom reported revenues of $11.46 billion with net earnings of $1.592 billion.

Of late media space in India has been witnessing a big churn. While the Pranoy Roy-promoted group NDTV announced plans to float lifestyle and entertainment channels with ex-Star India chief Samir Nair heading NDTV Imagine, Peter Mukherjea, the man behind Star TV''s rise in India, also quit the channel to start his own venture with wife Indrani.