MUMBAI: Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has invested $102.7 million in DMG Radio Australia to purchase the remaining 50 per cent stake in the company that was owned by UK media conglomerate Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT).

Lachlan had in November 2009 bought 50 per cent stake in the company through Illyria Investment. DMG Radio Australia operates commercial radio networks in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia.

"We are pleased to move to 100 per cent ownership of DMG Radio Australia," Lachlan said in a statement.

"When we acquired our 50 per cent interest in DMGRA in November 2009 we set out to create one of Australia?s leading media companies. Over the past three years, working alongside DMGRA?s wonderful staff, we have successfully implemented our growth strategy."

"In that time Nova has regained its position as the number one national network for people 18-39 and we have successfully launched SmoothFM. The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of DMGRA has doubled and the IRR (internal rate of return) on our initial investment is more than 60 per cent.

"We have great confidence in the continuing potential of radio, great confidence in the management team we have built under Cathy O?Connor, and look forward to further growing DMGRA in the coming years."

MUMBAI: Viacom18 will soon launch Rishtey in UK, a new mass entertainment Hindi entertainment channel that will complement its existing flagship channel Colors.

Rishtey will be launched in UK first by IndiaCast, showcasing content from a spectrum of genres including format shows, fiction, music and news.

The free-to-air (FTA) channel will be available on Sky Digital, it is learnt. Test signals are on and the launch is expected next month.

Rishtey will air re-run shows of Colors and also have original content.

Viacom18 operates a bouquet of channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, Vh1, Colors, Sonic and Comedy Central. It is also engaged in the film business through Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

Says Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats, ?While we have a horizontal presence across television entertainment, with the launch of Rishtey, we now begin the phase of strengthening our presence in each vertical as well.?

Colors CEO Raj Nayak adds, ?With ?Rishtey?, we intend to create a new category within the general entertainment space, and given the rich mine of content within the Viacom18 Group, we?re confident of ?Rishtey? resonating well with both ? viewers as well as advertisers.?

IndiaCast COO Gaurav Gandhi states, ?Rishtey offers a wide range of variety entertainment programming that will engage, entertain and delight the South Asian audiences in the UK. As a free-to-air service, Rishtey perfectly complements our flagship brand Colors, by reaching out to a much wider audience base and giving them a taste of our much loved programming."

MUMBAI: Delivering a speech at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Elisabeth Murdoch made a push for the media industry to embrace morality, while stressing that profit without purpose would be a recipe for disaster.

This contradicted her brother James Murdoch?s stand three years ago who at the same event had said that profit was the only guarantee of independence. "James was right that if you remove profit, then independence is massively challenged but I think that he left something out: The reason his statement sat so uncomfortably is that profit without purpose is a recipe for disaster," said Elisabeth Murdoch.

?As an industry?and indeed I would say as a global society?we have become trapped in our own rhetoric. We need to learn how to be comfortable with articulating purpose and reject the idea that money is the only effective measure of all things or that the free market is the only sorting mechanism.?

She also unlike her brother supported the BBC. James Murdoch had taken aim at the UK pubcaster for its guaranteed and growing income from the license fee paid by UK TV owners. But Elisabeth Murdoch said, "Let me put it on record that I am a current supporter of the BBC?s universal license fee".

Addressing the phone hacking issue which led to the closure of News Of the World, she said that she had told James to step back and that Rebekah Brooks should resign. "It was said within closed walls and Rebekah did resign."

?News Corp is a company that is currently asking itself some very significant and difficult questions about how some behaviours fell so far short of its values. Personally, I believe one of the biggest lessons of the past year has been the need for any organisation to discuss, affirm and institutionalise a rigorous set of values based on an explicit statement of purpose.?

She also said that she does not want to succeed her father at the company.

MUMBAI: News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has defended British tabloid The Sun?s decision to publish nude pictures of Prince Harry claiming that doing so was necessary to demonstrate lack of "press freedom" in UK.

The issue has raised a stink ever since it was published on Friday sparking criticism from public and politicians alike. In fact, the Press Complaints Commission has received more than 850 complaints from public against The Sun for publishing the pictures.

It is believed that the members of Royal family had asked the PCC to request media not to publish those pictures to which the latter agreed and none of the British newspapers used it. However, on Friday The Sun at the behest of its owner Rupert Murdoch decided to publish those pictures thereby causing embarrasment to St James?s Palace.

No sooner the pictures appeared it kicked up a storm with many questioning the motive behind the move. Many also argued that publishing pictures were an invasion of privacy and one that doesn?t serve any public interest.

According to one school of thought in the British press, the move was Murdoch?s way of warning his critics (read Lord Justice Leveson) who is probing the phone hacking scandal at the now defunct News of the World.

However, Murdoch is unperturbed by the criticism and the media baron took to Twitter to defend the The Sun, "Needed to demonstrate no such thing as free press in the UK. Internet makes mockery of these issues. 1st amendment please."

Murdoch?s defiance notwithstanding fears are being raised that The Sun?s actions will give a reason to Lord Justice Leveson to come down harder on press.

He later came out in defence of Prince Harry saying people should give him a break. "Prince Harry. Give him a break. He may be on the public payroll one way or another, but the public loves him, even to enjoy Las Vegas," Murdoch said somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

MUMBAI: The opening ceremony of the London Olympics set a new viewership record with 26.9 million viewers in UK tuning in, according to public broadcaster BBC.

The average viewing figure for Friday?s four-hour show was 22.4 million thereby becoming UK?s 13th most-watched programme ever.

In contrast, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games in 2008 averaged at 5 million and peaked at 5.4 million.
The programme also had an 82 per cent share - almost twice that of the previous high for an Olympic opening ceremony, in Barcelona in 1992.

In US, The Nielsen Company said London?s ceremony was the most-watched opening ceremony of any summer or winter Olympics with a record 40.7 million watching it on NBC.

The viewership topped the previous mark of 39.8 million people who watched the 1996 Atlanta Olympics begin, and the 34.9 million who watched the opening ceremony of Beijing games four years ago.

MUMBAI: Sky has established a new distribution arm to market the international rights to its originated content by acquiring Parthenon Media Group, a leading independent international distribution and multi-media rights management company.

The current Parthenon team, led by founder and CEO, Carl Hall, will lead the new function within Sky, reporting to Sophie Turner Laing, Sky?s MD of Entertainment, News and Broadcast Operations.

Sophie Turner Laing comments, ?As we continue to increase investment in UK production, this is a natural step in the evolution of Sky?s content business. We are producing world class television - innovative, creatively ambitious and, in many cases, on an epic scale. It?s only right that we match this with world class aspirations for how we take this content to as wide an international audience as possible.?

?We are delighted to be moving into distribution with Carl and the team at Parthenon. I?m confident that together we will be able to create a model that delivers great opportunities for our independent production partners as well as Sky. This is a tremendously exciting time, both for us and those who are making great TV with us.?

Carl Hall adds: ?This is a great day for everyone associated with Parthenon. Over the past ten years, our success has been built upon our unique, boutique-style approach to all our content providers. I am honoured to be leading the new distribution division within Sky. This will also open new and exciting opportunities for international producers looking to benefit from the support of one of the UK?s largest investors in original content and a global leader in the provision of world-class television.?

In line with Sky?s on-going commitment to increasing its investment in original content, the creation of a distribution capability will help Sky accelerate its plans for international rights management. This will include playing a central role in the way Sky?s commissioned content is showcased to the international market.

The new in-house model will help generate additional revenues from Sky?s content investment from the sale of overseas rights, which will enable Sky to reinvest even more in the UK?s creative economy, for the benefit of customers and content makers alike.

Sky is one of the largest investors in original British content. This year alone it has invested more than ?450 million in British commissioning and production. This is set to increase to ?600 million a year by 2014, with most of the growth set to come in genres such as drama, comedy, entertainment, arts and factual.