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| Type | Public: (BSE: 532619, NSE: UTVSOF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 22 June 1990 |
| Headquarters | Mumbai,  India |
| Key people | Managing Director: Ronnie Screwvala Executive Directors: Zarina Mehta Deven Khote |
| Industry | Broadcasting, Media, Entertainment, Gaming, Animation |
| Products | Films, Television, Satellite Television, Games, Websites |
| Website | http://www.utvnet.com/ |
UTV Software Communications Ltd., also known as United Television or UTV, is an Indian integrated media and entertainment company.
Contents |
History
UTV started off as United Software Communications Pvt. Ltd. on 22 June 1990. Subsequently, they went public and were renamed as UTV Software Communications Ltd. in 1998.[1]
Corporate structure
UTV is listed on the Mumbai Stock Exchange and the Indian National Stock Exchange, and its motion picture division UTV Motion Pictures Plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
In August 2006, The Walt Disney Company acquired a 14.85 percent stake in UTV.[2] This was subsequently hiked to 32.1 percent in 2008, the same level as UTV's founders Ronnie Screwvala and his associates.[3] The remaining share is publicly traded.
List of holdings
Television production
UTV started off producing television content for Indian public broadcaster Doordarshan in 1990. They were also into ad film making.
With the entry of satellite television in India, UTV grew larger and produced several television programmes for a number of Indian TV channels such as Zee TV and Star Plus.
In 1995, UTV produced India's first daily soap opera, Shanti, for Doordarshan. UTV was also contracted by Disney to dub its cartoons in Hindi.
Following is the complete list of TV programmes produced by UTV:
Film production and distribution
UTV ventured into film distribution in 1996 with its subsidiary UTV Motion Pictures Plc. It then moved into film production, first in Bollywood and then in Hollywood in partnership with major studios like 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney and Sony Pictures.[4] It is today one of the largest production houses in South Asia.
Animation
UTV forayed into animation production in 1998 with the acquisition of Ram Mohan Biographies. Currently, UTV's subsidiary UTV Toons handles its animation business.
Broadcasting
UTV entered into the broadcasting arena through its acquisition of Vijay TV from United Breweries. It was later sold to Star TV in two phases in 2001 and 2004.
In 2004, UTV launched Hungama TV, a kids channel. This was sold to Disney in 2006.[5]
In 2008, UTV re-entered the broadcasting business through its broadcast arm, UTV Global Broadcasting Ltd (UGBL). UGBL launched five entertainment, news and film channels in its first year. These are:
- Bindass
- Bindass Movies
- UTV Movies
- UTV World Movies
- Bloomberg UTV (formerly UTVi)
Gaming
In December 2007, UTV's ventured into production of gaming software and content through its subsidiary UTV Media by acquiring Indiagames Ltd., an Indian gaming company.[6] It later went on to acquire Ignition Entertainment Ltd. and US-based True Games.
References
- ^ Company History - UTV Software Communications
- ^ "Walt Disney set to take control in UTV". Hindustan Times. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=95b09ff4-d170-4007-b5b4-fdaf408ad896&&Headline=Walt+Disney+set+to+take+control+in+UTV.
- ^ "Walt Disney to more than double UTV stake to 32%". Economic Times. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2793218.cms.
- ^ "UTV & Fox in Strategic Tie-up -To co-produce M Night Shyamalan's next movie". India PR Wire. http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/entertainment/200703152246.htm.
- ^ "UTV sells Hungama TV to Walt Disney for $ 30.5 mln". One India. http://news.oneindia.in/2006/07/25/utv-sells-hungama-tv-to-walt-disney-for--305-mln-1153823853.html.
- ^ "UTV Media to invest Rs 150 cr more in gaming". Business Standard. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/utv-media-to-invest-rs-150-cr-more-in-gaming/361511/.
External links
Coordinates: 19°06′42″N 72°51′39″E / 19.111709°N 72.860738°E
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