NDTV Ltd is all set to wash its hands off NDTV Imagine, the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) it launched with much fanfare around a year ago.

Two people close to the development said the broadcaster has sealed the deal to sell its entire stake, which amounts to around 75-80 per cent in the channel, to Turner Broadcasting, part of global media conglomerate Time Warner, for a consideration of about $70 million. The rest will be retained by some employees, including NDTV Imagine’s CEO Sameer Nair and other stakeholders such as film producer and director Karan Johar. “They (Turner) may decide on buying that stake as well at a later stage,” one of the two individual’s said.

Both NDTV and Turner refused to comment on the development. “We do not comment on speculation,” an NDTV spokesperson said in an email, whereas Anshuman Misra, managing director, Turner International India, said: “It is Turner Broadcasting’s policy not to comment on speculation.” He, however, added that “India is a critical market for Turner and we are continually exploring business opportunities in the media and entertainment space.”

Turner is already present in the Indian broadcasting space through children’s channels Cartoon Network and Pogo and English movies channels HBO and WB.

This will be, however, the company’s second effort to get a foothold in the Hindi GEC space, which is the largest genre on television with more than 25 per cent share in the overall advertising pie of around Rs8,000-8500 crore and over 30 per cent share in viewership.

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