"We are looking at an Indian partner from the print media for content- sharing. This will be in line with our strategy to associate with local print companies in the Asian region," said Jim Laurie, STAR TV's vice- president of news and current affairs said on Monday. Though STAR TV is in negotiation with several media companies in the region, Laurie refused to provide details.

STAR World has recently entered into a content-sharing, advertising and financial alliance with `Business Week'. While the production costs are to be shared between the two parties, the rights of the television show would stay with STAR TV. Business Week would also have no rights over ad revenue from the programme, Laurie said. "There is a synergy developing between print and television media. By converting the print content into a TV show, we will give Business Week a wider reach as they have a small readership base in the country. And the magazine will help us target our business interest audiences."

For making the channel locally relevant, STAR World has decided to gradually increase its news and current affairs content. The half-hour AsiaNews Sunday is being renamed `STAR News Focus Asia' and will be a one-hour weekly current affairs programme. AsiaNews Update will become STAR News Asia, a 30-minute show aired five days a week.

Besides, the channel is increasing its coverage on news from South Asia, including India. Said Laurie, "We were not doing enough South Asian stories. We are aiming at an equal split in news coverage between the South Asian and the East-Asian countries."

The channel has gradually reduced its dependence on Fox News and SKY news programming by introducing coverage from the Asian region. "News from US and UK were not relevant to the region. We are not going to compete with international news channels like BBC and CNN. We are also not competing with local news channels like STAR News. We are positioned as a regional channel," said Laurie.

STAR World is the only channel in the STAR TV bouquet which has a pan-Asian identity. The English channel has entertainment programming content which has a pan-appeal. The current affairs content is also tailored to meet a regional audience interest. The channel, over the last few months, has increased its commitment to news from one hour to four hours a week.

Said Laurie, "The networks in US have increased their magazine-based programming from one hour to four hours. We are hoping that the American model would be applicable in Asia."