Imagine Showbiz a Turner General Entertainment Networks India Pvt. Ltd endeavour, is a 24-hour

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

music channel Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from recording artists, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite, cable, or Streaming Platforms. Music television ...

catering to Indian youth. The channel went on air on 15 August 2008 as NDTV Imagine Showbiz. Imagine Showbiz Ltd. was a JV company between

NDTV Group New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

and Cinestar Advertising Private Ltd. On 8 December 2009, it was announced that Turner Asia Pacific Ventures (a wholly owned subsidiary

Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

) had acquired a 92 per cent stake in NDTV Imagine Ltd. NDTV's 76 per cent stake in NDTV Imagine would be given to Turner for $67 million, the

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

company would acquire fresh

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

worth $50 million to get 92 percent control. NDTV Imagine Ltd. runs NDTV Imagine, NDTV Lumiere and NDTV Imagine Showbiz television channels and film production and distribution company, NDTV Imagine Film Co. The purchase received approval from the Time Warner board on 17 December 2009. At the end of the $126.5 million deal, Turner held 92% in NDTV Imagine Ltd. while 3.2% was retained by NDTV Networks and the remaining 4.8% was held by its chief executive officer

Sameer Nair Sameer Nair (born 1965) is an Indian media executive and business professional currently serving as CEO of Applause Entertainment Limited. He helped revamp the Star India, Star One, Star Utsav, Star Gold, Star Vijay and Channel V television net ...

and other Imagine employees. NDTV announced on 24 February 2010 that it had received all the regulatory approvals and the transaction had been concluded on 23 February by transfer of shares, amounting to 85.68 per cent of NDTV Imagine Ltd, by NDTV Networks Plc to Turner Asia Pacific Ventures. The three channels would be under Turner General Entertainment Networks, a holding company that will infuse fresh

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

to fund the network's growth. The 'NDTV' brand was dropped out and the channels were relabelled Imagine TV, Lumiere Movies and Imagine Showbiz. In January 2011, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL), part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, confirmed a proposed acquisition of Imagine Showbiz from Cinestar, who had bought the entire 51 percent stake held by its JV partner Turner International. The acquisition by RBNL was to included a 100% purchase of Imagine Showbiz's

shareholding A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal owner ...

, along with other assets including

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

rights, music library, Bollywood content, technical expertise, including studios and equipment and the existing distribution network. Imagine Showbiz was to be renamed and repositioned as a full-on music channel.

References

{{Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Reliance Group Television stations in Mumbai