Satellite radio provider WorldSpace India has ceased all operations. A statement to subscribers on its website said that its service was terminated as a result of the continuing financial difficulties of its parent company, WorldSpace Inc, which has been…
Satellite radio provider WorldSpace India has ceased all operations. A statement to subscribers on its website said that its service was terminated as a result of the continuing financial difficulties of its parent company, WorldSpace Inc, which has been in chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US since October 2008.
The WorldSpace India statement explained that there is a potential buyer for WorldSpace Inc assets, but that said buyer has no interest in the Indian unit, thus forcing its discontinuation.
The buyer is US cable and media giant Liberty Media, through its subsidiary Liberty Satellite Radio. Liberty recently bought up WorldSpace’s debt, and has effectively been conducting due diligence on the company’s assets.
Now that Liberty has decided against acquiring WorldSpace India, it raises the question as to what it actually wants from WorldSpace. India was its largest market, and the two WorldSpace satellites are old and somewhat outdated.
It is most likely that Liberty is looking to gain control of WorldSpace’s global frequency and operating licences, with a view to a possible tie-up with Sirius XM that would take the US satellite radio operator global. Liberty took a 40% stake in Liberty last year after bailing it out with a US$250m loan.
WorldSpace India told subscribers that it could not offer refunds to customers who had paid beyond the cessation date of December 31, 2009, and that those seeking reimbursement should make their claim through the US bankruptcy court.
WorldSpace India was the most successful division of the stricken company’s business by some distance. It had over 400,000 paying subscribers across India, to whom it supplied 36 channels of varied content.
For the time being, these subscribers will be served by the DTH division of Bharti Airtel, which has made a ten-channel radio service available to former WorldSpace customers. More than half of all WorldSpace India users received the service as part of a bundled package with Bharti’s DTH offering.
