Mukesh Ambani a new media giant?

After the Network 18-Eenadu deal gets consummated, Ambani will get an unparalleled access to national and regional content.

To begin with ETV's bouquet consists of 11 regional channels and one Telugu news channel ETV2.

The 11 infotainment channels in different vernaculars have an exhaustive nationwide presence beaming to states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in south to Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west, Bihar, UP, Rajasthan, MP in north and central India while reaching out to Orissa and Bengal in the east.

It also reaches out to the Indian diaspora in the US, providing digital entertainment via ETV Telugu, ETV Bangla and ETV Gujarati entertainment channels.

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These regional channels have had an interesting model of clubbing news and entertainment together, with the logic being, that a news wheel at the top of the hour will hook viewers to stay on for the entertainment programme that follows.

On the other hand, Network 18 is one of the largest diversified media houses in the country with interests in television, Internet, filmed entertainment, e-commerce, magazines, mobile content and allied businesses.

As a broadcaster, it operates two leading business news channels - CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, two general news channels, CNN-IBN, IBN 7 and a Marathi news channel in partnership with the Lokmat group.

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It also operates a 50:50 JV with Viacom which houses a portfolio of India's market leading entertainment channels - Colors, MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon - and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the group's filmed entertainment business.

It also has a strategic distribution alliance with Sun Group, SUN 18.

In a newer initiative, it has also ventured into factual entertainment via its JV with A+E Networks (formerly A&E Television Networks). AETN 18 operates History, Bio, Crime & Investigation Network and Lifetime.

The various other digital, e-commerce, internet, news terminals, event management and publishing ventures of the group - including a collaboration with Forbes Magazine - are still fledgling and niche, but are strategic platforms for future growth.