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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Reliance Broadcast Network and CBS Studios International Announce Deal to Launch Television Channels in India

Reliance Broadcast Network and CBS Studios International Announce Deal to Launch Television Channels in India

MUMBAI, India, August 18, 2010/PRNewswire/ --

Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL), part of the Reliance Anil
Dhirubhai Ambani Group, and CBS Studios International, a division of CBS
Corporation, today announced their equally owned joint venture that brings
together two of the world's pre-eminent media and entertainment companies.
Marking the announcement of the joint venture in Mumbai, India, were Tarun
Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited and Armando Nunez, President,
CBS Studios International.

The Joint Venture Company (the "JVCo") will be a limited liability
company incorporated in India. CBS and RBNL (through its subsidiary) will act
as shareholders and each have a 50% equity interest in the JVCo. The joint
venture will, at its start, see the creation of three new television channels
allowing for programming rights in India, one of the world's fastest-growing
television markets, and across the Indian subcontinent. Leveraging both brand
strengths, the JVCo is called BIG CBS Networks Pvt. Ltd. The channels will be
English language entertainment channels customized for the Indian market, and
will premier in the 4th quarter 2010, offering audiences immediate access to
new and current CBS programs, including some of the most popular television
programs in the world.

The three new channels will be made available across a network of digital
and analog distribution platforms. They will also be offered to audiences
across the Indian subcontinent covering India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan. The themed channels will be targeted
to India's fast-growing, upwardly mobile population and branded BIG CBS
Prime, a premium English language general entertainment channel; BIG CBS
Spark, India's first-ever English language youth channel; and BIG CBS Love,
India's first-ever English language entertainment channel for women.

With Reliance Broadcast Network Limited's multi-media presence and an
integrated sales offering combined with the content and media muscle of CBS,
BIG CBS stands to make a significant impact on India's burgeoning television
industry. Add to this considerable synergies across Reliance ADAG platforms,
which include distribution forays through BIG TV and Reliance Digicable,
television production through BIG SYNERGY and BIG Productions as well as
filmed content through BIG PICTURES, international partnerships with
DreamWorks and the Group's many advertising and promotional platforms, the
potential of this Joint Venture clearly has exciting prospects.

The wide range of popular CBS content to be offered by the channels will
include new series such as "Hawaii Five-0," "The Defenders" and "Blue
Bloods," as well as current hits such as "NCIS," "Survivor," "CSI: Crime
Scene Investigation," "90210," "America's Next Top Model" and "Entertainment
Tonight."

The channels will also draw from 70,000 hours of content from CBS's vast
program library, including the original "Melrose Place," "Star Trek: The Next
Generation," "Frasier," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Charmed," to name a
few.

In addition, the venture will also acquire content from third-party
suppliers and will consider producing original English language programming
for the channels in the future.

Commenting about the new Joint Venture, Mr. Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance
Broadcast Network Ltd. said, "We are proud to announce our joint venture with
CBS, America's leading television broadcaster. This is truly a landmark
moment not just for us but the entire Reliance ADA Group, with our first step
into the television broadcasting space. We see great opportunity in the
Indian television industry which projects high growth rate, and we are
confident that our deep understanding of the Indian consumer's entertainment
requirement and advertiser needs, coupled with CBS' reputation for creating
superior content, will offer unmatched and pioneering entertainment to
audiences in India and across the Indian subcontinent."

"Reliance is an international media and entertainment powerhouse and the
perfect partner for CBS to expand further into India," said Armando Nunez,
President, CBS Studios International. "The vast programming, production and
media resources of our two companies position us extremely well to serve
audiences, advertisers and all constituents of these new channels. This is an
exciting alliance with potential for amazing synergies and new opportunities
for our companies in one of the world's most dynamic business and media
markets."

The Rs. 265.5 billion burgeoning Indian television market is estimated to
have 134 million homes with televisions, of which 103 million have access to
cable or satellite television, including direct-to-home (DTH). India is
poised to become the world's largest DTH satellite pay TV market by 2012,
overtaking the U.S. with a projected 35 million subscribers.

While BIG CBS will initially focus on the English language general
entertainment channels, the joint venture may also explore the option of
launching Hindi Language and Regional Language general entertainment
channels, along with other possible projects in the future.

The joint venture with Reliance in India marks CBS Studios
International's second significant launch of international channels in key
markets in the past year. Last September, CBS established a joint venture
with Chello Media to launch a suite of CBS-branded channels in the U.K. The
company also has ownership interests in SCI FI and TV1, which are pay
television channels in Australia.

About Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd.


Reliance Broadcast Network Limited ("RBNL") is part of the Reliance ADA
Group. One of India's youngest media houses, it has grown at a steady pace
and is reckoned today amongst India's leading media businesses. RBNL
currently has play in the spaces of Radio, Experiential Marketing,
Out-of-Home and Digital and specializes in creating and executing integrated
solutions for clients across the country. Its latest business venture marks
the ADA Group's entry into television through its 50:50 JV with America's
leading media house, CBS Studios International:

92.7 BIG FM - the radio brand pioneered the spread of FM entertainment
with the launch of its 45-station network, reaching out to over 200 million
Indians; BIG Live - the experiential marketing wing of the Company covers
activations, events, intellectual properties and rural marketing; BIG Street
- in the business of out-of-home media; and BIG Digital - an initiative in
the digital space offering mobile and online solutions. BIG CBS - the
television foray of the Group, will see the launch of three English language
GEC's catering to the Indian subcontinent. With Reliance Broadcast Network
Limited's multi-media presence and an integrated sales offering, combined
with the content muscle of CBS, BIG CBS Networks Private Ltd., stands to make
a significant impact on India's burgeoning television industry.

Having built significant multi-media capabilities, these business
verticals come together to offer a truly integrated solution to clients. For
more information, log on to http://www.reliancebroadcast.com.

About CBS Studios International


CBS Studios International is the leading supplier of programming to the
international television marketplace, licensing to over 200 markets and more
than 30 languages across multiple media platforms. CBS Studios International
also exports a diverse line-up of formats for local production around the
world and participates in international channel ventures. The division
distributes content from CBS Television Studios, CBS Television Distribution,
SHOWTIME, CBS News, CBS Films and a library of more than 70,000 hours of
programming. CBS Studios International is a division of CBS Corporation.

About CBS Corporation


CBS Corporation is a mass media company with constituent parts that reach
back to the beginnings of the broadcast industry, as well as newer businesses
that operate on the leading edge of the media industry. The Company, through
its many and varied operations, combines broad reach with well-positioned
local businesses, all of which provide it with an extensive distribution
network by which it serves audiences and advertisers in all 50 states and key
international markets. It has operations in virtually every field of media
and entertainment, including broadcast television (CBS and The CW - a joint
venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable
television (Showtime Networks, Smithsonian Networks and CBS College Sports
Network), local television (CBS Television Stations), television production
and syndication (CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios International and CBS
Television Distribution), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on out-of-home media
(CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon & Schuster), interactive media (CBS
Interactive), music (CBS Records), licensing and merchandising (CBS Consumer
Products), video/DVD (CBS Home Entertainment), motion pictures (CBS Films)
and sustainable media (EcoMedia). For more information, log on to
http://www.cbscorporation.com.


Source: CBS Studios International

Cheryl D'Souza-Waldiya, RBNL, +91-9322198940, cheryl.waldiya@big927fm.com or Chris Ender, +1-818-655-1100, cender@cbs.com or Jennifer Weingroff, +1-323-575-5460, jennifer.weingroff@cbs.com both of CBS


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