MEDIA-I: Star buys indya.com in multimedia move

<p>NEW DELHI: Rupert Murdoch's Star network has made a strategic buy out of </p><p>much-advertised indya.com. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The general purpose portal is backed by venture capitalists Vinod </p><p>Khosla, John Sculley, Healtheon's Pavan Nigam, Gunjan Sinha of eGain, </p><p>and whizz-kid Pradeep Kar of Microland. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Speaking in Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, the project's head, Gary </p><p>Walrath, also executive vice-president Star, said: "The move is in line </p><p>with Star's vision of providing next-generation media connectivity in </p><p>Asia and equips indya.com with an unparalleled edge to be the only </p><p>internet-based communications, entertainment and commerce powerhouse. </p><p>Indya.com will now be the online face of Star in India." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Said Lalit Ahuja, executive liaison, Star group: "This is in line with </p><p>our repositioning as a multimedia company. As we move to multipoint </p><p>businesses, the buyout will help us develop new revenue streams." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Star has also invested in four other portals - explocity.com, </p><p>baazee.com, egurucool.com and indiaproperties.com. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The shareholding varies between 20 per cent and 33 per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Says Walrath: "We selected whatever space matters to us; the overlap is </p><p>minimum. We will pursue our interest in each of these portals." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Earlier, James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer of Star, </p><p>visited India and said that the focus of the group would be on </p><p>consolidation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Referring to other activities of the group, Murdoch said that no </p><p>decision had yet been reached on whether to launch its pet project - DTH </p><p>in India. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Murdoch said he was still studying the regulatory issues concerning </p><p>DTH. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He had also held meetings with the Information and Broadcasting </p><p>Minister, Sushma Swaraj, and with IT minister, Pramod Mahajan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He added that the group's foray into FM radio in India was an exciting </p><p>venture. Following the launch of Radio City in Bangalore, he plans to </p><p>set up stations in Lucknow and New Delhi by the end of the year. </p><p>However, no new channel launches are under consideration at present. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Of all the competing channels, Star is the only one without a children's </p><p>channel in its portfolio. Nor said Murdoch would Star launch Fox news in </p><p>India. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Reviewing the India operation, Murdoch said Star has fared well in the </p><p>past year - a year which saw it leapfrog to the number one position </p><p>thanks to its Who Wants To Be A Millionaire show, and its soap operas, </p><p>which dominate prime time. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Our growth in the market would help the Indian broadcasting industry to </p><p>consolidate," said Murdoch. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Declining to give details of Star's financial performance in India, </p><p>Murdoch said that Star's overall broadcasting operations in India would </p><p>break even in the next 15 months. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>