Imagine TV shuts, employees clueless
New Delhi, April 12: USbased media giant Turner Broadcasting System on Thursday said it has decided to shut down its general entertainment channel Imagine TV in India, a move that will impact around 150 employees.
The company, however, did not elaborate how many jobs will be lost as a result of it but reiterated that it was committed to future investment in the country.
Imagine TV together with its international Feed “Imagine Dil Se” will cease to operate from Thursday.
“Imagine TV has not performed and grown as per expectations. While some programmes delivered satisfactory ratings, overall the channel was unable to achieve the ratings consistency needed to sustain the business and support continued investment,” Turner International managing director South Asia Siddharth Jain said.
‘ While some programmes delivered satisfactory ratings, overall the channel was unable to achieve the ratings consistency’
As a result, Turner made the carefully considered decision to cease operations of the channel, he said.
On the fate of employees who worked for the channel, the Mr Jain said, “The close down of Imagine business operations will impact 150 employees approximately... We will use our best endeavours to make this as smooth a transition as possible for them.”
The company will retain some employees for a transition period and some others may be offered permanent roles within Turner to fill current vacancies, he said.
“We will also introduce the employees to recruitment consultants, HR professionals from other media organisations and facilitate their new job search,” the company said.
NDTV Network, which earlier owned majority stake Imagine TV, exited the general entertainment space by selling its part in the channel to Turner International in 2010.
“The company remains committed to future investments and long- term participation in India,” Turner said.
Turner International currently operates popular channels like HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, POGO, WB, TCM and Boomerang in India.