ITV

Tag: G Jagdish Kumar

  • Tata Sons, Star Group ink DTH deal; Tatas to hold 80% stake

    Tata Sons, Star Group ink DTH deal; Tatas to hold 80% stake

    MUMBAI / NEW DELHI: News Corp’s Star Group and Tata Sons today announced the inking of a deal for a 20:80 joint venture agreement for a KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) television service for India.

    This follows several draft memoranda of understanding and meetings between Star Group and Tata executives over the past few months. It was last September that indiantelevision.com broke the news that Star had zeroed down on the Tatas to be their partners in the Indian DTH venture.

    The Tatas, being the the majority shareholder, would reportedly be nominating a CEO, while a Star person is expected to be the COO. A name that has been thrown up as a likely candidate from Star’s end is G Jagdish Kumar, who is anyway the COO of Space TV, the company Star had set up for its DTH foray.

    It is also expected that a formal revised application will be moved in this regard with the government, which has already given a conditional letter of invitation to Space TV.

    As far as the investment in this project from the Tatas is concerned, it is reportedly coming by and large through Tata Sons.

    A statement issued by Tata Sons states that “the Tata Group and Star Group look forward to building India’s largest digital television platform and offering a range of channels including exclusive channels, with interactive features and services.”

    Expectations of some finalisation of the DTH have been doing the rounds ever since the Star Groups big three of CEO Michelle Guthrie, COO Steve Askew and CFO John Lau flew down to Mumbai last week.

    Industry experts pointed out that if Star has to start a DTH service in India, it should not delay the foray as completion of formalities is likely to take some time. With the country and the government getting into the general election mode, such a process may take up more time than usual, if delayed further.

    Subhash Chandra’s companies ASC Enterprise and Zee have launched a DTH service under the Dish TV brand in the last quarter of 2003. Though the subscriber base may not be as high as is being claimed (50,000), there is no denying that any further delay by Star may give Chandra’s companies enough lead time to consolidate operations.

  • Finance ministry finds flaws with Space TV’s DTH application; approves expansion plans for DD

    NEW DELHI: If the news channel was not enough of a pain for Star, the government today admitted in Parliament that Space TV’s application for direct-to-home television service was construed to be not in order by the finance ministry. But it also justified an invitation to Space TV for DTH.
    However, as the interpretation of the guidelines was left to the information and broadcasting ministry, it took its own stand while issuing a letter of invitation to Space TV on an application for a DTH license.
    Political critics had questioned the I&B ministry’s propriety and integrity while issuing a letter of invitation to Space TV though the finance ministry had clearly stated that the equity structure of the company was not as per the set guidelines.
    Space TV is a company that was formed in 2001 wherein two employees of Star India are shareholders and also directors on the board of the company. Still, the government today said that the licence for a DTH service would be issued only when an applicant company, including Space TV, has fully complied with the eligibility criteria with respect to foreign equity holding as laid down in the guidelines of March 2001, as also other terms and conditions necessary for such a grant.
    Replying to a question by V Vetriselvan in Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) today, information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the finance ministry has clarified, through its letter dated 17 January 2003, that the present equity of Space TV contributed by two employees of Star India cannot be treated as domestic share-holding as the funding for this equity contribution has been raised through bank finance in India, against the security deposit of Rs 100 million made by Star.
    The government also said that the finance ministry, while leaving it to the I&B ministry to interpret its own guidelines, had stated that DTH guidelines do not make a distinction between stages of ‘Letter of Intent’ or issue of a licence or post licence operations for applying eligibility criteria on the limit of foreign equity holding.
    In his ministry’s defence, Prasad pointed out to fellow parliamentarians that the home affairs ministry had cleared Space TV and its directors, including the chief executive, from the security point of view.
    As per government data, Space TV Pvt. Ltd. was incorporated on 9 January 2001. G Jagdish Kumar and Ajay K Sharma are the promoters and G Subramanian is the CEO of the firm. All three are presently working with Star India Pvt. Ltd. in different capacities. The head office and regional office addresses of Space TV belong to Star India Pvt. Ltd.
    Justifying his ministry’s letter to Space TV, Prasad said in view of the above, I&B ministry has asked Space TV to pay non-refundable entry fee of Rs 100 million to enable the ministry to issue Letter of Intent, subject to its furnishing an affidavit that it has fulfilled certain conditions.
    PRASAR BHARATI PACKAGE
    A special package for expansion/improvement of Doordarshan service in the Northeast region and in the Islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep has been approved in principle by the government. Two very low power transmitters (VLPTs) at Swarajgram and Kalighat were commissioned in Andaman & Nicobar Islands during 2002-2003.
    Replying to a question by Bishnu Pada Ray in Lok Sabha today, Prasad said that the scheme of installation of 10 KV FM radio transmitters with studio facility has been proposed for Port Blair in the 10th Five-Year Plan, for which an amount of Rs 57 million has been allocated.
    Under the Software Plan Scheme in the 10th Five Year Plan, an amount of Rs 400,000 was allocated to the All India Radio Port Blair, during the financial year 2002-2003. An amount of Rs 150,000 has been allocated to the deputy director-general (South Zone) during the current financial year under Software Plan Scheme, which includes provision for AIR, Port Blair as well.