Sony TV India in talks to join hands with Sun18

Sony Entertainment Television Asia’s distribution arm, One Alliance is said to be in talks with Sun18 to jointly distribute their channels.

The news follows after rival broadcasters Star India Pvt. Ltd and ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd shook hands in May to set up Media Pro Enterprise India, a TV distribution joint venture.

“The talks are on,” said a person aware of the development, who declined to be named as the matter is confidential.

Sun18 is a distribution venture of Kalanithi Maran�۪s Sun Network and Raghav Bahl�۪s Network18, the formation of which was announced in last July. MSM Discovery, branded as TheOneAlliance, is the distribution company of Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd (MSM, the owner of Sony bouquet of channels) and Discovery Communications.

“From MSM�۪s point of view, the Star-ZEE distribution joint venture means two things. One, its subscription revenue will go down, and two, its carriage fees would go up,�۝ said an executive at a broadcaster, on condition that neither he nor his firm be named. “Everything starts and ends with negotiation in analogue systems,” he said, explaining the rationale behind the new alliance plans.”

If the deal goes ahead, then it will mean the likes of Colors, Sun TV, Sony TV, MAX, SAB, PIX, CNN-IBN, CNBC TV-18 and MTV coming together under one umbrella.

In the UK, Sony TV and Colors already work together as a part of the VIEWASIA bundle. ZEE Network distributes its channels independently; meanwhile Star TV channels are sold along with Sky’s basic lifestyle packs.