MUMBAI: Discovery, which is a leader in US pay-TV market, is all set to become world?s leading pay TV programmer outside the US, after it acquired ProSiebenSat.1 Group?s SBS Nordic operations for $1.7 billion and a 20 per cent stake in Eurosport for$221.6 million ( ?170 million).

The acquisition of ProSiebenSat.1 Group?s SBS Nordic operations and a minority stake in TF1/Eurosport would add to Discovery Communications? earnings and accelerate the international growth, Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav said on a conference call.

The two acquisitions will add sports and scripted programming to the company even as he sought to clarify that the wasn?t planning to become a player in US sports broadcast which has big players like ESPN and Fox Sports among others.

"The US sports TV business is a totally different business. I do not see us getting into big checks," Zaslav said.

Discovery, Zaslav said, now has 153 channels in 217 countries with more than 1.8 billion subscribers. He also pointed out that Discovery was a "unique" media company as it owns nearly all of its content, which allows it room for syndication.

Similarly, TLC, he said, is now in 150 countries and has more than 300 million subscribers worldwide, making it the number one female TV lifestyle brand in the world.

According to Zaslv, the two deals will help Discovery to grow faster.

On being asked as to when international would overtake US business, Discovery Networks International CEO Mark Hollinger said there would be "friendly rivalry" between the US and international teams.

Hollinger and Zaslav are also bullish about Eurosport which has a potential for growth in other regions inlcuding Asia. Eurosport was a viable proposition since it was focussed on low-cost sports like tennis and ice skating. It also airs Bundesliga outside of Germany where it is cheaper.

MUMBAI: Consumers without bundling will pay more for less. "I don?t think it?s desirable for consumers to break the bundle. You end up paying more for less," said Time Warner chairman, CEO Jeff Bewkes at the UBS Media and Communications Conference in New York.

There isn?t much opportunity for the cable operators to unbundle networks or create more tiers. The issue, however, is about sports where the content costs dor distribution platforms is shooting up. "The escalation of sports rights, I don?t know what will happen with that. That may be an issue. Other than the concentrated viewing and cost of sports, the rest of the bundle is a better value than ever," said Bewkes.

He also spoke about CNN saying, "It is true, to criticize ourselves, that we have not programmed it to keep it interesting if you wanted to stay for hours".

CNN gets high ratings during breaking news but has fallen off during slower times. "We need to do a better job of producing the full 24 hours. It doesn?t all have to be politics, although that is a part of it. We?re going to be a little bit more vigorous and broad," said Bewkes.

Asked about the movie business, Bewkes said business is decent in the US and strong overseas, but warned of the trend toward lower-margin rentals vs. buying in the home video market. The studios are trying to combat this trend with the cloud-based UltraViolet venture that promotes home video ownership.

MUMBAI: This month Singapore pay TV service provider StarHub TV will be giving customers more control over their TV viewing with six new channels, including five On-Demand channels.

To be launched on 9 November 2012, the five new On-Demand channels are National Geographic Play, Star World Play, FoxCrime Play, Fox Play and FX Play (StarHub TV Ch 508). Each On-Demand channel will be assigned a channel number after its linear version.

In addition, KBS World HD a high definition simulcast of KBS World launched on 1 November 2012 bringing the number of HD channels on StarHub TV to 29 in total. KBS World HD will be available to all StarHub TV customers on free preview until 31 December 2012.

StarHub VP home solutions, content Iris Wee said, "We are always looking to broaden our viewers? entertainment options through our offerings. The introduction of these five On-Demand channels will empower our customers to dictate their viewing schedules while the addition of KBS World HD offers viewers an additional option to catch 0Korean entertainment programming.

The five On-Demand channels will allow viewers to catch education and entertainment content at their convenience. National Geographic Play will feature the best of National Geographic Channel?s signature edutainment programming from the previous month. Notable highlights include episodes of Mega Breakdown and Monster Fish of The Congo.

In addition, general entertainment channels Star World Play, FoxCrime Play, Fox Play and FX Play will each showcase selected highlights from their respective linear channels.

StarHub TV subscribers who currently receive National Geographic Channel, Star World, FoxCrime, Fox and/or FX will be able to enjoy the respective On-Demand channels for free. Viewers will require a HubStation, HubStation HD or HD Interactive set-top box to access the On-Demand channels.

KBS World HD will present fans of the Korean entertainment scene with hours of Korean dramas, variety shows and documentaries. The channel is a family entertainment channel provided by KBS, the flagship public service broadcaster in Korea.