No plans for TCM relaunch, says Turner International

Our eFE Bureau in New Delhi

THE Turner Group is exploring opportunities but does not have any immediate plans to bring back the TCM movie channel to the Indian viewers. According to Turner International India managing director Anshuman Misra, the company is looking at different platforms to include TCM for the Indian audience.

However, Mr Misra clarified that the company has not set any timeframe for doing so. He was speaking to The Financial Express on the sidelines of a press conference. ‘‘We’re waiting for the right opportunity,’’ he said.

Elaborating on the issue, Turner Entertainment’s senior vice-president and general manager, Mr Ian Diamond, who had come down from Hong Kong to address this press conference, said the group is exploring alternative distribution platform for TCM. On why TCM was taken off, Mr Diamond said that it was one of those hard decisions that one must take at times.

It may be recalled that from July this year, TCM was taken off air. In its place, a 24-hour Cartoon Network was introduced, a change from the earlier 12-hour cartoon slot on the channel.

TCM is a classic movie channel with over 5,000 films from one of the world’s largest film libraries. TCM has a mix of legendary and contemporary classics from the 1920s to the 1980s and is recognised as a channel with the best range of movie content.

On another issue involving distribution of the Turner Group, Mr Misra said that talks are on with various players. Recently, there were reports suggesting that Sony Entertainment Television and the Turner Group channels may be distributed under one platform.