STAR DEN and MGM launch new English movie channel

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) has announced its partnership with STAR DEN, to launch its 24-hour English movie channel, the MGM Channel. The channel has gone on air from 15 September and will air English movies for film lovers, round-the-clock. These include films such as Manhattan , Network, Carrie, A Passage to India, Midnight Cowboy, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, to name a few.
Commenting about the launch, Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, CEO, STAR DEN, said, "MGM with its huge library of compelling Hollywood movies will bring a great value addition to the STAR DEN bouquet of channels and will indeed compliment the best of English programming it offers to the viewers in the country."
Bruce Tuchman, executive vice president, MGM Networks, said, "Being backed by STAR India and DEN is the ultimate seal of approval in the eyes of India's cable operators, and we're thrilled that we will be distributed as part of STAR DEN's unrivaled bouquet of channel offerings. By working with STAR DEN, MGM will now have a compelling opportunity to extend and accelerate our channel's reach throughout the widest possible audience in the large and burgeoning Indian television market."
When asked how successful a new 24- hour English movie channel will be in a market like India, Kapoor said, "If you consider the number of news channels in India today, nobody would have imagined that we would have had more than 15 news channels one day. Same goes for sports channels; no one thought India required more than one sports channel. But we do have six sports channels. So, it's sheer demand that we need to capture." He further added that it was myopic to think that a consumer may not want to view a particular type of channel, without first providing him with it and letting him decide. "The choice remains with our customer, whether he wants a particular channel or not. MGM is a very strong brand with a very good brand record. Now is the time where the consumer can pick and choose what he wants, and here is where MGM comes in, with its huge library of Hollywood movies."
Speaking about the STAR DEN and MGM alliance, Tuchman said, "I think we both gravitated towards a similar point of view about the value of library movies in the MGM brand, what we can do for their (STAR DEN) business and the consumers in India." He added, "We couldn't be with better folks, since STAR DEN is best in the business."
The channel has just tied up with Dish TV, with plans to tie up with digital cable and other leading DTH service providers in the country.