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HBO ends Zee pact, in alliance with Sony

BS Corporate Bureau in Mumbai

HBO, the premier Hollywood movie channel, today said it had left the distribution arrangement with the Zee-Turner network, to join hands with Sony Entertainment Television.

Almost in retaliation, Zee Telefilms has snatched its business news channel, CNBC India, out of the One Alliance of Sony and Discovery, among others.

Zee Telefilms intimated to the stock exchanges in a late evening release that its board would meet on November 30 to ratify the proposal.

An HBO spokesperson said at a press conference it had entered into a new sales and distribution pact with Sony for India and Maldives. HBO will, hence, be part of the One Alliance bouquet from January 1, 2003.

Sony India chief executive officer Kunal Dasgupta said the alliance with HBO would propel the One Alliance bouquet to the top distribution slot in India by April.

CNBC India's distribution tie-up with Sony was due to expire in March 2003. The channel was already scouting for a new partner in recent months. CNBC chief executive Haresh Chawla declined to comment on the issue.

Subscription charges for the One Alliance bouquet are also due to increase soon because of the new arrangement.

Earlier, HBO had a distribution alliance with Zee-Turner, its exclusive distributor and advertisement sales representative since its entry into India about two years ago.

According to sources, HBO has parted ways with the Zee Network since Turner International is due to launch its own movie channel soon.

This would probably have caused a conflict of interests if the channel continued to be part of the bouquet.

James P Marturano, managing director, HBO South Asia, said: "HBO has reached around 15 million homes in India and the neighboring countries and the Sony alliance will enable us to build on the success that the channel has enjoyed till date." The offer in India by HBO is its cheapest in the world.

"With HBO, we now have an attractive mix of popular channel services. Moreover, it will be a seamless transition because we have the same encryption technology and the satellite as HBO," Kunal Dasgupta said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, Sony is also in talks with MTV and Niclodeon for including them in the One Alliance bouquet. Sony has seen a growth of around 60 per cent each year in the last three years.

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