Malaysia’s Astro All Asia Networks signed a deal with India’s Maran Group to provide direct-to-home (DTH) TV services in India, Astro announced April 5.

Under the agreement, South Asia Entertainment Holdings Ltd., a wholly owned unit of Astro, will invest up to $166 million for a 20 percent stake in Sun Direct TV, a provider of DTH services across the country. Maran will retain an 80 percent interest in Sun Direct. Service is expected to begin in the second half of 2007 using transponders on the Insat-4B satellite placed into orbit in March.

"There are over 65 million pay-TV homes [in India], and this market is expected to grow to over 150 million homes in the next decade,” Astro CEO Robert Odendaal said in a statement.

"We believe that DTH platforms coupled with the implementation of conditional access systems by cable networks will allow DTH services to expand rapidly in India.”