Hindustan Times group Editorial Director Vir Sanghvi is joining the INX Media group that has planned a bouquet of news and entertainment channels in different languages. Sanghvi would be the chief executive of the new company and editorial head of the news channels, promoted by Indrani Mukerjea, the chairperson of the venture and the wife of former chief of STAR TV’s India operations Peter Mukerjea.
“For print purposes, Sanghvi’s association with HT Media would continue and his popular columns will continue to appear in Hindustan Times as also Mint,” Indrani Mukerjea told the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS). “My programmes with other channels will cease,” said Sanghvi.
INX Media will launch a Hindi entertainment channel, a music channel and an English news channel by the last quarter of this year and roll out the rest nine over the next two years. The regional languages being contemplated include Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi and Bhojpuri. Peter Mukerjea is bound by a non-compete agreement that does not allow him to be a part of any broadcast business.
India has 68 million cable TV homes and is set to become Asia’s leading cable market by 2010, the world’s largest satellite market by 2008 and the most lucrative pay TV market by 2015. With more than 250 TV channels on air, advertising revenues are fragmented and average revenue per subscriber is among the lowest in Asia Pacific.
INX Media has attracted investments from some of the world’s leading venture funds, including Temasek Holdings of Singapore via Dunearn Investments, New Silk Route, New Vernon, Kotak and SREI Group.
INX officials, however, denied that the Ambanis had anything to do with the new venture whose news operations would be based in New Delhi and the entertainment section headquartered in Mumbai.
“Neither the Ambanis, nor any member of the Murdoch family – or for that matter any company in the group – has any investment at all in the entertainment or the news companies in the form of either equity or debt,” Indrani Mukerjea said.
“The news company INX News will be 26 per cent owned by the entertainment company and, in accordance with the government of India regulations, by a single Indian entity drawn from the INX Group,” she added. The group also plans to outsource its programming. “We will also buy some of our entertainment software from some of the best producers in the business,” Indrani Mukerjee said.
Acording to exchange4media, an internal communiqué circulated by HT Media’s Vice-chairperson Shobhana Bhartia on Tuesday said Sanghvi would continue his association with Hindustan Times as Advisory Editorial Director and his columns continue to appear in the Hindustan Times, Brunch and Mint. He will remain involved in all company events like the HT Leadership Summit and the HT Luxury Conference.
Sanghvi has been involved with HT Media for many years in his capacity as Editor-in-Chief and later as Editorial Director. During this period the company launched several editions, notable among them being Kolkata, Chandigarh and, more recently, Mumbai. Hindustan Times also revamped its design and page format during Sanghvi’s tenure.
