The much-hyped joint venture between Tatas and Rupert Murdoch controlled Star group is understood to have got all the government clearances for starting the Rs 1,600 crore (Rs 16 billion) direct-to-home venture in India.
The venture under the name Space TV had been pending clearance from various government agencies since September last year when the promoters submitted the proposal to the information and broadcasting ministry.
"We are still awaiting a formal intimation by the information and broadcasting ministry," Star India CEO Peter Mukherjea told PTI, when asked if their proposal had got all the clearances including from the home ministry.
Asked if the clearance had been given to the DTH venture of Star and Tatas, top officials of the I&B Ministry said: "Not yet."
The Tata-Star venture follows Zee's ASC Enterprises, the first player to have got the licence to run DTH operations in the country. Prasar Bharati, the first to get DTH licence, is striving to start the much-awaited service from next month.
When contacted, Space TV CEO Vikram Kaushik told PTI that the details of number of channels that the DTH service would offer and other operational matters were still being worked out.
"We have not yet finalised it," he said when asked about the channels the DTH service would offer to and at what price.
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