MUMBAI: Star India and Digital Entertainment Networks (DEN) have announced a joint venture to create a platform for distributing television channels in India via all fixed networks including cable, DTH, IPTV, HITS and MMDS. The 50:50 joint venture will be headquartered in Mumbai.

The joint venture will be an exclusive distributor for Star India for all channels distributed domestically by Star India . It will also seek to expand its bouquet offerings by including other third party channels for distribution. 

“It is an important growth initiative in the distribution platform business and enables us to better harness the growth opportunity,” said Star India CEO Uday Shankar. “We are pleased to tie up with a group of professionals who we find are strategically aligned to our vision of this business and its growth prospects.”

“DEN is excited to join forces with India ‘s richest content provider in building an independently-run and robust channel distribution platform. Our vision is to incorporate the world’s best practices to create a platform of premium content, which adds value to the entire distribution chain. We feel this joint venture presents a compelling opportunity to all content providers,” said DEN promoter and chairman Sameer Manchanda. “It combines professional management, domain knowledge and compelling content to provide world class products and services to the Indian consumers.”