India’s Reliance enters media business with Network 18 tie-up

Reliance Industries, India's largest private company, will establish a larger beachhead in the media business through a tie-up with broadcaster Network 18, the Economic Times reports.

Reliance will invest about $340 million in Network 18, which will in turn use part of that money to help fund the purchase Reliance's stake in regional language broadcaster Eenadu, the paper said.

With the acquisition of Eenadu, Network 18 will have a portfolio of 25 channels, varying greatly in content and audience, the paper said.

Reliance will eventually own a stake in the holding company set up to run the broadcaster and also get the right to show its channels on its soon-to-be-launched broadband 4G service, the paper said.