The Hindu Business Line : Murdoch keen on regional channels

Mumbai, August 4 News Corp will invest in regional channels, though picking up equity in print media is not on the radar yet, said the Chairman, Mr Rupert Murdoch, referring to the 26 per cent cap on foreign direct investment (FDI).

The media corporation is set to invest about $ 100 million over the next 12 months in six vernacular channels under its Star brand, he told reporters. And while there is an interest in regional channels, he said, the corporation was not looking at publishing if it could not take responsibility for what it publishes.

Further, he added, they were not picking up stake in print media because it was not available and because it would not want to take just 26 per cent stake. The idea of controls is “ridiculous”, as news can be got from several other sources thanks to technology, he said.

The media moghul was in Mumbai, after he had visited New Delhi where he is reported to have met the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and other government officials.

Mr Murdoch was in the city to launch The Gobal Dow, an index that will track share prices of existing and global leaders in different business segments.

‘Pan-India’

The media conglomerate is also looking at a “pan-India” presence using mobile, electronic and digital technologies, he said. On the increasing overseas corporate interest in Bollywood, he indicated that they would like to expand their presence in the segment, though costs have shot through the roof.

Without commenting on speculation that his company was indeed divesting stake in certain production houses, he said, they were keen on spreading work across more production houses.

With total revenues of about $ 32 billion, News Corp has interests spread across television, newspapers, cable network programming and direct broadcast satellite television, across different countries. Only last year, it acquired Dow Jones & Co for over $5 billion.

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