Turner Asia Pacific Ventures has got Government approval to invest Rs 85.01 crore in India over a two-year period. Kid Media India, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Spacetoon Media, has also received Government clearance to invest Rs 78 crore in India for its proposed kids cartoon channel.
Turner was seeking induction of foreign equity in a “company engaged in uplinking of non-news and current affairs TV channel”. Turner International is setting up a 50:50 JV with Miditech promoters to roll out entertainment channels in Hindi and other Indian languages. Turner has also picked up close to 30 per cent stake in Miditech, a production house run by the Alva Brothers, for an undisclosed amount.
Turner, a Time Warner company, already broadcasts kids’ channels Cartoon Network and Pogo in India. Turner also has a JV with the Zee Group for a distribution company, where it holds 26 per cent stake.
Meanwhile, the Government has also given clearance to Kid Media India, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Spacetoon Media, to invest Rs 78 crore in India. The company plans to launch a kids’ cartoon channel, which would be linked from Dubai Media City and downlinked in India.
Kids Media India recently entered into a pact with Marvel Entertainment International to represent its licensing, merchandising, publishing and promotional programmes in India. Popular toon superheroes Spiderman, X-Men, The Hulk, Iron Man, Ghost Rider and Captain America are some of Marvel’s properties.
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