The Hindu Business Line : Bertlesmann views India as key growth area

INDIA has emerged as a key growth area for German media conglomerate Bertlesmann Media Worldwide. And as part of this focus, Mr Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its music business, BMG, will coordinate the business in the country.

This was revealed by the company's Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, Dr Gunter Thielen, to Business Line. The media company has identified growth markets such as India, China and Eastern Europe and has appointed members of the executive board to coordinate the business plans in these regions.

After being present in the Indian market through its BPO venture and publishing business, Bertlesmann Media is planning to expand its broadcasting operations in the country.

Speaking to presspersons while announcing its annual results, Dr Thielen said that India and China with a combined population of over 2.4 billion people provide huge opportunity. He said that the group is looking at possibilities in the television business, which includes entering into partnerships with television software production companies or existing television channels.

Elaborating on the plans for the television business, Mr Gerhard Zeiler, CEO, RTL Group, which handles the broadcasting business, said that the company would look at entering into alliances for television software production.

For starters, it is working along with Sony Entertainment Television to produce Pop Idols, a popular reality entertainment show. "If Pop Idols becomes a success, we can become a brand name immediately. We hope that other channels will work with us for many more such shows."

Mr Thielen also added that both publishing and outsourcing are other big opportunities for the group. The company currently distributes books published by Random House, UK. But it will now publish books of Indian authors and distribute it across the globe. In the outsourcing business, "Bertlesmann has about 100 employees. It is planning to expand this to 5,000 people in five years," Mr Thielen added. However, the company has ruled out re-entering the music business, as piracy is a major concern.

Earlier, it had a tie-up with Crescendo, but subsequently withdrew from the market.

Bertelsmann on Tuesday announced its results for the year 2003. Even though the consolidated revenues for the group were down from 18.3 billion euros (Rs 95,160 crore) to 16.8 billion euros, all the business divisions were back in the black. The lower revenues are attributed mainly to a weak US dollar.

"All corporate divisions are profitable and our finances are in order. We now return to concentrating on growth," Dr Thielen said. The company has about 2 billion euros available for acquisitions and is looking to grow through expansion of services and product portfolio, he added.

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