Star & ZEE Network to join hands in India

Star TV and ZEE Network are likely to join hands in distributing their channels together in India.

If the deal goes through, the arch rivals new alliance will certainly shake up the broadcasting space in India.

The Star channels are distributed by Star Den, an equal joint venture between Star and Den. ZEE Network has a distribution joint venture with Turner International where it holds 74 per cent equity.

���Rupert Murdoch�۪s Star India and Subhash Chandra�۪s ZEE are traditional rivals, but the new guard is having a more collaborative approach. Star India CEO Uday Shankar and Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka are close and are more co-operative. So a deal between the two is possible,�۝ an industry source said.

There are several options that can be explored, if Star and ZEE decide to combine their distribution business. A possible route could be merging Star Den with ZEE-Turner.

In the UK, speculation has been rife about ZEE Network inking a deal with VIEWASIA but both parties have been hesitant to comment on this.