Joint
venture partners Reliance Broadcast Networks and CBS Studios
International are planning for a November 2010 launch of the new general
entertainment channel Big CBS Prime in India and have announced the
outlines of its schedule, which will include such popular U.S. fare as The Defenders, Blue Bloods, NCIS, Survivor, CSI, Rachael Ray, Judge Judy, Frasier, The Insider and Entertainment Tonight. The
English-language channel will target younger 18 to 34 year old audience
and is the first of three that the two partners are planning to launch
in India, which has seen rapid growth in recent years.
Some 134
million homes have TVs in India, with about 103 million hooked up to
cable or satellite television. In 2012, India is expected to become the
world's largest DTH pay TV market, overtaking the U.S., which is
projected to have about 35 million satellite subscribers that year.
