Mumbai, India-Star TV last week said it acquired a 26 percent stake in Indian MSOs Hathway Cable and Datacom Pte. Ltd., which owns and operates India's second-largest cable network.
Hathway's network is the fastest-growing operation in the country and reaches about 2.5 million homes, the company said.
As part of the investment, the companies announced plans to launch a fully integrated interactive-television and broadband-Internet business in the first half of next year.
"In a market such as India, with constraints in telecommunications infrastructure, access definitely commands a premium," said Peter Mukerjea, CEO of Star's Indian operations, in a prepared statement. "Our alliance with Hathway will provide Star with an important interactive-television platform for distributing our multiservice offerings in India."
