Warner Bros To Launch New TV Channel In India

Turner International, a unit of Time Warner Inc <TWX.N>, will launch a new entertainment channel in India along with Warner Bros, but sees lower revenue growth in its top Asian market due to a slowing economy.

The new channel, called WB, goes live on March 15 and will show Hollywood movies and television series.

Steve Marcopoto, president of Turner's Asia-Pacific unit, said the company expected "strong single-digit" expansion in revenue from the Indian market in 2009, compared with "high teens" recorded last year, as firms cut advertising budgets.

He said Turner's performance in other regional markets could be even worse, with some flat or contracting.

"In some markets, they say flat is the new up," Marcopoto said. "We are also happy to say that India is proving to be one of the more resilient economies."

India is Turner's top market in the Asia-Pacific region, where it operates Cartoon Network, Pogo kids' channel, HBO and recently launched a Hindi entertainment channel, REAL, in partnership with an Indian firm.

It also collaborates with Indian firm Global Broadcast News Ltd <GLOB.BO> in the CNN-IBN news channel, and has a minority stake in Indian production firm Miditech Pvt Ltd for regional-language general entertainment channels.