THE DEAL: CBS Corp. is teaming with billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network to launch television channels in India, joining a host of foreign broadcasters hoping to tap a fast-growing market. India’s TV audience has grown to 500 million viewers _ still just 60 percent of households _ and the number of channels has mushroomed to over 460 in 2009.
THE PRODUCT: Three English channels will start broadcasting series such as “Hawaii Five-0” and “CSI” in October.
THE INDUSTRY: Viacom, Time Warner, Walt Disney and News Corp. have already jumped into India’s TV market, which is expected to grow 15 percent a year to become a 521 billion rupee ($11.4 billion) business by 2014. TV is the biggest segment of India’s entertainment industry.
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