Viacom18 completes merger of Prism TV

The integration of five regional channels – Colors Kannada, Colors Marathi, Colors Bangla, Colors Odiya and Colors Gujarati – within its fold strengthens Viacom18's regional play

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | September 2, 2016

Viacom18 today announced the merger of Prism TV with Viacom18, thereby integrating five regional channels – Colors Kannada, Colors Marathi, Colors Bangla, Colors Odiya and Colors Gujarati – within its fold.

Sudhanshu Vats

Commenting on the merger, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, said, “The regional entertainment broadcast pie commands ~30 per cent viewership in the Indian broadcast space, and as consumer preferences are moving towards segmented regional content this share is only going to grow. This merger allows us to create a single brand that can leverage the individual strengths of the regional channels and harness synergies in terms of content strategy and business processes, helping us amplify long-term value for Viacom18. I am particularly pleased that this process has been completed at an opportune time when we are gearing up to celebrate our 10^th anniversary, in 2017, with a bigger and unified Team Viacom18.”

With this merger, not only the regional brands but also the Prism TV workforce will become part of Viacom18 and be assimilated seamlessly into its cultural ethos.

Viacom18 had recently launched Colors Super, its second Kannada GEC, further strengthening its share in the Kannada market which it already dominates with Colors Kannada. With this merger, the network is poised to significantly dial up its regional play at a time when the regional GEC genre is fast emerging as the next 'big thing' in the Indian broadcast sector.

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