The Reliance group has put its proposed entry into the television news business on the fast track.
Barely a month after giving Ernst & Young the mandate to study the financial feasibility of the proposed venture, the Mukesh Ambani-controlled group has appointed Prateek Basu, a former Disney hand, to spearhead its initiative to launch three media channels.
The Observer Research Foundation will be the group's vehicle for this business.
Sources close to the development said Reliance might launch three channels in the business and news (English as well as vernacular) genres by the end of this year. Reliance sources declined to comment.
Reliance is in an advanced stage of negotiations with the British Broadcasting Corporation and a New Delhi-based television software company for an equity alliance.
"The broad contours of the negotiations indicate that Reliance would partner with a global brand, as well as a local company. While the global company would add credibility to these channels, the local firm would provide the initial infrastructure," the sources explained.