MUMBAI: BIG CBS Networks launches BIG CBS Prime, the first channel from its recently announced three channel bouquet.

The English General Entertainment Channel will hit television screens across India this November. Along with its launch announcement, BIG CBS Prime unveiled nine of the shows that India can look forward to on the Channel and the FPC (Fixed Programming Chart) for launch.

The channel will draw from CBS’s vast program library, which contains over 70,000 hours of content, with shows including some of the latest US sensations such as The Defenders and Blue Bloods, and fresh seasons of NCIS, Survivor, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Rachael Ray, Judge Judy, Frasier, The Insider and Entertainment Tonight. The first glimpse of the shows was presented by Reliance Broadcast Network CEO Tarun Katial and BIG CBS Networks business head Aparnaa Pande.

BIG CBS Networks business head Aparnaa Pande said, “We are very proud to be changing the way English entertainment is consumed in India, with the launch of BIG CBS Prime. With a fabulous line up of the best shows from the US, and our promise of delivering the freshest, hottest and latest programming, exclusively on the Channel, we are confident of attracting the right mix of eyeballs. The programming will offer unmatched and unparalleled entertainment to audiences in India, as we grow the English television entertainment space.”

The Rs. 265.5 billion burgeoning Indian television market is estimated to have 134 million homes with televisions, of which 103 million have access to cable or satellite television, including DTH. India is poised to become the world’s largest direct-to-home satellite pay TV market by 2012, overtaking the U.S. with a projected 35 million subscribers.

BIG CBS PRIME will be a paid channel distributed on a network of digital and analog platforms.