The Hindu Business Line : INX Group to offer bouquet of channels

New Delhi March 15 Ms Indrani Mukherjea of INX Group announced the new media plans of the company, which include a Hindi entertainment channel, an English news channel and a music channel.

The company, which started out as a placement consultancy, has already applied for licences for the three, and expects to launch the yet-to-be-named entertainment and news channels, under INX Media Pvt Ltd and INX News Pvt Ltd, by the end of this year. Ms Mukherjea is to be the Chairperson of the new venture, with Mr Vir Sanghvi heading INX News Pvt Ltd.

"The market will be increasingly fragmented, and advertisers will look out for channels that deliver to niche demographics. English channels in any way cannot win the TRP battles, and will have to focus on an upmarket audience," said Mr Vir Sanghvi.

Ms Mukherjea is the wife of Mr Peter Mukherjea who recently quit from his position of CEO in Star India, and is bound by a contractual agreement with Star that does not allow him to be part of any broadcast business immediately.

The company also has plans for regional and city specific channels, which can be expected in the next two years. The entertainment part of the business will be financed by investment firm Dunearn Investments subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, New Silk Route, New Vernon, Kotak and SREI Group.

The news venture, bound by the 26 per cent FDI rule, will be funded primarily by IM Media Pvt Ltd, a company owned by Ms Mukerjea and a part of the INX Group. In a press statement, Ms Mukherjea clarified that no single fund will own more than 26 per cent of the entertainment channel.

"A portion of the equity will be kept aside as sweat equity for key employees both in the entertainment and the news companies," she added. Ms Mukherjea also clarified that the Ambanis or Mr Lachlan Murdoch, son of Mr Rupert Murdoch, were not investors, as was widely speculated.