Viacom18

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Viacom 18 Media Private Limited
TypeJoint venture
IndustryTelevision
FoundedNovember 2007; 14 years ago (2007-11)
HeadquartersMumbai, Maharashtra, India[1]
Key people
Rahul Joshi (CEO)
OwnersNetwork18 Group (51%)
Paramount Networks EMEAA (49%)
SubsidiariesViacom18 US
Viacom18 Media
Roptanol
The Indian Film Company[2]
Viacom18 Studios
WebsiteViacom18.com

Viacom 18 Media Private Limited is an Indian joint venture operation between TV18 and Paramount Global based in Mumbai.[3] It was founded in November 2007 and owns various channels of Paramount, as well as various consumer products in India.

History[edit]

In January 2010, Viacom 18 went international with the launch of Colors in United States. The channel is called Aapka Colors. In July 2010, it got into 50/50 distribution joint venture with Sun Network to form Sun 18.[4]

In December 2011, Viacom 18 launched Nickelodeon Sonic, targeting young adults.[5]

In 2013, TV18 acquired the non-Telugu language TV assets of ETV Network for ₹2,053 Crore, with a permission to use ETV brand name.[6]

In 2015, Viacom 18 decided to rebrand all five non-Telugu language ETV regional general entertainment channels. ETV Marathi, ETV Gujarati, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla and ETV Odia were rebranded into Colors Marathi, Colors Gujarati, Colors Kannada, Colors Bangla and Colors Odia respectively.[7]

The company also owns Viacom18 Studios. On 31 January 2018, TV18 announced its acquisition of Viacom's majority in the joint venture, taking operational control and leaving Viacom with minority interest.[8] On 1 October 2019, Viacom 18 launched Colors HD in Malaysia on Astro Malaysia; every serial will be served with Malay and English subtitles.[citation needed]

More recently, the company had inked a deal with the National Basketball Association in order to deliver live NBA games to all of their own networks.[9]

Merger attempts[edit]

Merger with Sony[edit]

On 21 June 2020 Sony's Indian unit Sony Pictures Networks India in talks to Viacom 18 to be merged into one entity . as per reports merger of Sony Pictures Network and Viacom 18 is in the final stages and likely to be announced soon.[10] and Sony may hold 74% stake in the merged company.

However on October 2020 Reliance Industries[11] parent company and majority share holder in Viacom18 calls off merger of Viacom18 with Sony.[12][13]

Merger With Zee[edit]

In June 2021 [14] reports saying Viacom18 Media Private Ltd and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) are reportedly in talks about merger.[15] However ZEEL denies any potential merger deal with Viacom18.[16] and entered in talks with Sony Pictures Networks India.[17]

Merger with Lupa India[edit]

On 27 January 2022 media reports Lupa India, the investment company set up by Uday Shankar and James Murdoch, is in the final stages of picking up a 39 per cent stake in Viacom 18.[18] thereby turning Paramount Global into a minority share holder with a 10 per cent share in the company.[19]

Channels and platforms[edit]

On-air channels[edit]

Following are the distribution channels available from Viacom18:[20]

Channel Launched Language Category SD/HD availability Notes
Colors TV 2008 Hindi General Entertainment SD+HD
Colors Rishtey 2014 SD
Colors Cineplex 2016 Movies SD+HD
Rishtey Cineplex 2020 SD
Colors Cineplex Bollywood 2021
MTV 1996 Youth SD+HD
MTV Beats 2014 Music
Colors Infinity 2015 English General Entertainment SD+HD
Comedy Central 2012
VH1 2005 Music
Nickelodeon 1999 Hindi
Tamil
Telugu
Malayalam
Bengali
Marathi
Gujarati
Kannada 		Kids SD
Nickelodeon Sonic 2011
Nick Jr. 2012 Hindi
English
Nick HD+ 2015 HD
Colors Bangla 2000 Bengali General Entertainment SD+HD Previously known as ETV Bangla
Colors Bangla Cinema 2019 Movies SD
Colors Gujarati 2002 Gujarati General Entertainment Previously known as ETV Gujarati
Colors Gujarati Cinema 2019 Movies
Colors Kannada 2000 Kannada General Entertainment SD+HD Previously known as ETV Kannada
Colors Super 2016 SD
Colors Kannada Cinema 2018 Movies
Colors Marathi 2000 Marathi General Entertainment SD+HD Previously known as ETV Marathi
Colors Odia 2002 Odia SD Previously known as ETV Odia
Colors Tamil 2018 Tamil SD+HD

Upcoming channels[edit]

Channel Expected Launching Language Category SD/HD availability Notes
Sports 18 1[21] 15 April, 2022 English Sports SD+HD
Sports 18 2 1st May, 2022
Colors Telugu 1st May, 2022 Telugu General entertainment SD+HD
Sports 18 Khel 1st May, 2022 Hindi Sports SD+HD

Over The Top (OTT)[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd". Viacom18.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  2. ^ "TV18 Broadcast Ltd (CRD)" (PDF). BSEIndia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Corporate restructure complete for India's Network18". rapidtvnews.com. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Beefing Up The Bouquet". business.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Viacom18 launches its new channel 'Sonic Nickelodeon' in India". India Infoline. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  6. ^ Network18 finishes Rs 2,053-cr deal to acquire ETV stakes
  7. ^ "ETV re-branding to Colors". Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  8. ^ "TV18 to increase stake to 51% in Viacom18, the JV with Viacom Inc". Viacom18. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Viacom18 inks three-year media rights deal with NBA - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  10. ^ IANS (21 July 2020). "Sony to own 74% after merger with Viacom 18, to battle Disney Star". National Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  11. ^ Oct 5, PTI /; 2020; Ist, 17:08. "Reliance Industries calls off merger of Viacom18 with Sony - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Jha, Lata (5 October 2020). "Sony's slated merger with Viacom18 now called off". mint. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Jio | Mukesh Ambani: With Jio in mind, Mukesh Ambani's RIL calls off merger of Viacom18, Sony". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  14. ^ Laskar, Anirudh (20 June 2021). "Viacom18 and Zee Entertainment in early merger talks". mint. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Viacom18 and Zeel eyeing a merger?". Indian Television Dot Com. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  16. ^ "ZEEL denies any potential merger deal with Viacom18 - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  17. ^ "ZEEL starts due diligence process for merger with Sony Pictures Networks". The Financial Express. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  18. ^ Gupta, Surajeet Das (27 January 2022). "Uday Shankar, James Murdoch firm to pick up 39% stake in Viacom 18". Business Standard India. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  19. ^ Laghate, Gaurav. "Uday Shankar, James Murdoch plan to pick up nearly 40% in Viacom18, Reliance to retain majority stake". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Our Channels - On Air". viacom18.com.
  21. ^ "NTO 2.0: IndiaCast unveils revised bouquet offerings, prices sports channel at Rs 12 - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 18 March 2022.

External links[edit]


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