STAR Jolsha to launch next month

In a major step to make its precence felt in the Bengali general entertainment space (GEC), STAR India has set in process the launch of STAR Jolsha, a Bengali general entertainment channel (GEC) that will start beaming on September 8.
Soon, Marathi and Gujarati GECs will also come up in this fiscal year. Talks are on to launch similar channels in the South. The southern language channels could form part of the regional bouquet if talks on the deal with Asianet is successful. This would give STAR India a foothold in the Malayalam and Kannada language markets, fortifying its presence in the southern region where it’s Tamil channel STAR Vijay enjoys a lot of clout. “We are launching the Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati channels on our own and all the three channels will come up before June-end next year,” asserts Executive Vice President, J C Giri.M
STAR Jolsha will host a mix of daily soaps, films and a celebrity chat show titled Ghosh & Co that will have acclaimed director Rituparno Ghosh hosting the show. Incidentally, veteran film actor Victor Banerjee is making his debut on Bengali television with Bandhan, a daily drama about family bonds, that will be a part of some of the programmes that form STAR Jolsha’s bouquet of shows. The primetime lineup of programmes to be aired on the channel includes Durga, a socio-mythological drama in which the grandson of Uttam Kumar, Gaurav Chatterjee makes his small-screen debut. Then there is a romantic thriller titled Neer Bhanga Jhod, Ekhaney Akash, a youthful romance set in a hospital and a comedy show I Laugh You among others. Leading Kolkata-based film production company Shri Venkatesh Films has also been roped in to produce programmes for the channel.
Commenting on the programming lineup, Gaurav Banerjee, Vice-President and head, content, STAR Jolsha, says, “The state has a unique cultural identity with a great body of art and literature and our programming will draw from this identifiable treasure trove of great culture and literature. Our channel will attempt to present a different style of storytelling. The youthful look of the channel will further drive away the false notion that anything to do with the word ‘regional’ translates into an inferior quality of content and presentation.”
STAR JOLSHA has acquired a slew of premium movies like Bong Connection, Anuranan and Master Phatakeshto among others which will be part of our to-be-aired films.These films will be premiering on weekends in the prime time slot. Besides in the afternoon slot, we will show good old Bengali films that have always been near the heart of all Bengalis." avers Giri.
STAR Jolsha will launch as an encrypted channel with a free-viewing window. The Marathi and Gujarati channels will also operate as pay channels with a free window. “We see an upper SEC, male skew in Bengali GEC viewership. Our Bengali channel is positioned with this in mind,” says Star India senior Vice President marketing and communications, Prem Kamath.
The channel will be competing in a Rs 2 billion Bengali GEC market which is growing at over 30 per cent. Zee Bangla is the market leader raking in almost Rs 1 billion, followed by ETV Bangla and Akash Bangla.

It’s curtains: Balaji, Star to go separate ways
The joint venture between the Star Group, the leader in the broadcast space in India and Balaji Telefilms, which is the custodian of some of longest running shows on Indian television, has finally come to an end. In an official communiqué on Tuesday, Balaji Telefilms informed the Bombay Stock Exchange, ‘‘The agreements entered into between Balaji and Star in April 2007 relating to the regional languages joint venture will also be terminated.’’ The Star Group held 25.99% stake in Balaji Telefilms via Asian Broadcasting FZ LLC. Under the termination agreement, Balaji's promoters can buy the entire 25.99% stake held by Asian Broadcasting at Rs 190 per share each within 240 days, failing which Star would be free to sell it to any other entity except a competitor. Therefore, the total valuation of the deal is estimated around Rs 300 crore. Sources disclosed the total revenues of the Star Group stand at Rs 1,200 crore, while that of Balaji Telefilms is approximately Rs 1,100 crore.
The Balaji Telefilms stock closed at Rs 169.25 on the BSE on Tuesday, down 1.94%.
The official statement also says that the content supply agreements between Star and Balaji for various shows produced by it will be modified to remove the restrictions imposed upon Balaji relating to exclusivity on certain prime time slots. The six existing shows produced by Balaji and currently on air with the Hindi general entertainment channel Star Plus, will continue on terms mutually agreed upon by the two parties. Both parties have also agreed to commence work on a new show to replace an existing show which will be launched before November 30, 2008.
Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India, said, “The relationship between Star and Balaji, as broadcaster and content provider will not be affected.” He added, “Star and Balaji have agreed to determine all prior agreements such that each side is freed from all respective rights and obligations arising from such agreements.” He also emphasised that the new arrangement allows both parties to take the best advantage of the emerging opportunities in broadcasting and content creation. BMR Advisors acted as the exclusive transaction advisor to Star. Shobha Kapoor, MD, Balaji Telefilms, said, “Star and BTL, have enjoyed a successful relationship over the past few years, one that has been to the mutual benefit of both. We are keen to continue this relationship, in the best spirit going forward.” She also said that the agreement with Star releases BTL from its various obligations and opens up very exciting opportunities for it. BTL is exploring strategic initiatives in various other segments of the Indian media and entertainment industry. Ambit Corporate Finance acted as the exclusive transaction advisor to BTL for this transaction.
The relationship between Star and BTL, as broadcaster and content provider will not be affected and both parties value and are keen on continuing the same. The content supply agreements between the two for various shows produced by BTL will be modified to remove the restrictions imposed upon BTL relating to exclusivity on certain prime time slots. All the six existing BTL shows currently on-air with Star Plus will continue on terms agreed upon by the two parties.

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STAR Jolsha to launch next month