The Walt Disney Company has invested Rs 118 crore (Rs 1.18 billion) for a 15 per cent stake in UTV Global Broadcasting (UGBL), the broadcasting arm of UTV Software Communications. Walt Disney currently holds 300,000 equity shares in the company.

The Indian film industry is now luring foreign producers too for investment. Many Hollywood movies are now being outsourced to the country for visual effects. Major Hollywood studios like Viacom, NBC, Universal, Dream Works, besides Warner Bros., Sony and Disney have also made investments in India's entertainment sector. According to a Ficci report, Indian entertainment and media industry is poised to grow at an annual rate of 18 per cent by 2011 faster than its counterparts.

Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Big Entertainment has acquired the digital images business of US-based DTS Inc in an all cash deal for $7.5 million (about Rs 30 crore).The American firm's business DTS Digital Images (DDI), also known as Lowry Digital Images, offers picture quality improvement services to movies, television and video content in Hollywood.This is the first acquisition by Reliance Entertainment overseas in the digital services space.

UTV Software Communications has launched an English business news channel, UTVi. The channel will go on the air by April-end. The company has entered into a content tie-up with Disney-ABC International Television (Asia-Pacific), the international TV distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company, for news programming & services. The channel is positioned to cater to the growing business aspirations of young Indians. The channel will attempt to de-jargonise the financial markets.

Walt Disney is close to increasing its stake in Ronnie Screwvala-promoted media company UTV Software Communications to 32 per cent.

How media and gadget companies are trying to get along

Reliance Entertainment, controlled by the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is divesting a 5 per cent equity stake at an enterprise value of $1.5 billion (about Rs 6,000 crore).

US-based NBC Universal is in talks with NDTV to pick up a stake in the latter's UK-based subsidiary, NDTV Networks. The subsidiary operates NDTV Imagine and NDTV Convergence, among others.

Chief executives are increasingly on the receiving end of some lush lifetime compensation deals.

UTV Group will start eight new channels with an investment outlay of $200 million by March 2008.

An attempt to unravel the method in Anil Ambani's madness as he hopes to build leadership in entertainment.

It missed broadcasting's first wave but UTV is looking at an AIM listing and its projects include combining the best of Hollywood and Bollywood.

In a world of infinite choices, says author and consultant Bill Jensen, the job of a leader is to help people make the right choices.

Over the years, UTV has added businesses to become an integrated media house. UTV's Ronnie Screwvala shares his vision in this interview describing UTV's itinerary to success.

These days, it's easier than ever to take the family along on business trips.

Dish TV subscribers through the English Movie on Demand service will now have access to a slate of box office hit movies from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax across all genres.

The animated blockbuster 'Hanuman' would be telecast as a mini-serial on Disney Channel soon.

The BCCI President said that Pakistan's tour is in doubt due to the long-running court battle over TV rights.

Dolls, toys, cars, airplanes, board games - you just name it there are toys for all ages. Toys are popular with kids and adults alike. Take the Rediff Business Quiz and find out how much you know about the toy industry.

Take the rediff biz quiz and learn some interesting facts about theme parks.