MxMIndia

Tag: Star India

  • Sanjay Gupta will be Country Manager of India

    Disney announces APAC top deck

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    On April 1, Star India – part of 21st Century Fox and now the larger Walt Disney Company – employees received a mail from Uday Shankar, Chairman, Star and Disney India, and President, The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific.

     

    It was much anticipated given an announcement earlier that the APAC leadership team would be unveiled. All of this was necessitated thanks to the late 2017 acquisition of the Rupert Murdoch family-owned 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company.

     

    Said Shankar: “It is a momentous opportunity to be able to chart the course of The Walt Disney Company in Asia Pacific and Middle East. While our region is experiencing tremendous change, the common thread that binds it together is the exciting opportunity it presents to build on the great businesses that we have today and create transformational businesses of tomorrow. My endeavour is to build an organisation that enables us to take full advantage of this unique opportunity and capitalise on the potential of the great leadership talent that we have in the region.”

     

    Although Walt Disney is the leader in many parts of the world, competition is getting stiffer with OTT platforms aided by cheaper mobile data, the rules of the game are indeed changing.

     

    “We recognise the need for a sharp focus on building deeply local businesses,” Shankar continued. “To achieve this, we are making some changes to the current market structure. This will allow us to serve the strategic agenda in each market and enable our exceptional leaders to build even greater and more successful businesses. Above all, this will facilitate our transformation into a direct-to-consumer company that rests on deep local foundations.”

     

    So here is the leadership of the APAC team of The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment:

     

    Business Leads and Country Managers:

    :: North Asia: Luke Kang will continue to lead the North Asia (Greater China, Japan and Korea) business including direct country management of Mainland China and Japan

    :: India: Sanjay Gupta will be Country Manager of India and will also have direct responsibility for the studio business in the country

    :: Star Regional Media Networks: K Madhavan will lead Star India’s regional language Media Networks

    :: Southeast Asia: Zubin Gandevia, after a long and distinguished career with Fox, has decided to leave the company but has agreed to remain for a period of time to help transition the leadership of media networks in Southeast Asia

    :: Emerging Markets & Content Sales: Amit Malhotra will lead Emerging Markets. He will also lead Content Sales for APAC (except North Asia), with a dual reporting to Janice Marinelli who heads DTCI’s Global Content Sales and Distribution

    :: Middle East: Chafic Najia will be Country Manager of Middle East Media cluster

    :: Australia/New Zealand (ANZ): Kylie Watson-Wheeler will continue to serve as Country Manager of Australian and New Zealand business with direct responsibility for Media Networks and Direct-to-Consumer

    :: Studios APAC: Kurt Rieder will lead the Studio business for APAC (except India). He will work closely with the regional business leaders to drive this business

     

    Functional Leads:

    :: Sanjay Jain will lead Finance

    :: Amita Maheshwari will lead Human Resources

    :: Anju Jain Kumar will be the Chief Regional Counsel for North Asia and ANZ

    :: Deepak Jacob will be the Chief Regional Counsel for India, South East Asia and Middle East

    :: Prateek Garg will manage my office as head of Corporate Development and will work closely with me and all business and functional heads

    :: Jessica Pouleur will lead Strategy and Business Development. She will also take interim responsibility of leading strategy for Southeast Asia

    :: Jannie Poon will head Corporate Communications

     

    Added Shankar: “Our true strength comes from the quality and diversity of our talent, which combines the best of both Disney and 21st Century Fox. I am privileged to lead a team of such exceptional leaders and congratulate all of them on getting this exciting opportunity to lead this great company to an even greater destiny.”

     

  • Chennai Super Kings to play Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 23rd

    MS Dhoni challenges Virat Kohli to show his game this IPL

    By A Correspondent

     

    As the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League gears for launch with the March 23 encounter of defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), an all-new TVC has been unveiled in an attempt to build the excitement.

     

    Noted a communique: “Star India, with its robust network will broadcast the match in Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam in addition to Hindi, English, and the Select Dugout feed.”

     

     

  • Adds talent and aims higher on the back of excellent growth in news segment

    Network18 does an org rejig with three senior hires from Star India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Network18 has announced a change in its organisational structure. The group has been recast along three major clusters: English and Business Cluster, which includes CNN-News18, CNBC-TV18, Awaaz and Bajaar, CNBC HD Prime and News18 International; Hindi Cluster including News18 India & News18 Hindi regional channels (UP/UK, MP/CG, Rajasthan, Bihar/JK, Urdu & Himachal-Punjab-Haryana); and Languages Cluster including all News18 regional channels minus Hindi—TN, Kerala, Kannada, Odisha, Bengal, Assam/NE, Gujarat and News18-Lokmat.

     

    Three key appointments have been made to bolster each cluster and drive it to the next level of operational excellence. Basant Dhawan joins as CEO of the English/Business cluster. An engineer and an alumnus of IIM Calcutta, Dhawan joins Network18 from Star India where he spent the last four years in a variety of roles. His last role was National Agency Business Head for Entertainment Sales in Star India. Basant will be based in Mumbai.

     

    The CEO of the Hindi cluster is Mayank Jain, who will lead the fast-growing News18 India and the cluster of other news channels across various Hindi speaking states. Jain, who will be based in New Delhi has joined Network18 from Star India’s entertainment division.

     

    Karan Abhishek Singh has joined as CEO for Languages cluster, also from Star India where he managed Integrated Sales for Television and Digital. Singh will be based in Bengaluru.

     

    The above three will report to Avinash Kaul, Chief Operating Officer of Network18.

     

     

  • ‘Storytellers’ include Shekar Kapur, Neeraj Pandey, Kabir Khan, Nikhil Advani, Ram Madhvani, Venkat Prabhu and Salman Khan

    Hotstar goes on Originals overdrive with top film-makers

    By A Correspondent

     

    Star India has announced an aggressive strategy to propel its OTT platform Hotstar. The company announced the launch of Hotstar Specials, featuring shows from well-known movie-maker. Although numbers were not officially revealed, Star has planned an outlay of upwards of Rs 125 crore on the project. Actual spends on marketing and promotions may exceed this amount.

     

    Said Sanjay Gupta, MD, Star India: “Star has always challenged conventions and been at the forefront of content reinvention in India. With the mobile phone leading an explosion in the number of screens in the country, we feel that our content also needs to reinvent and boldly move forward. With Hotstar Specials we hope to create the biggest Indian stories delivered to a billion screens. To bring this vision alive, we are proud to partner with a stellar line up of talent who are headlining our first set of Hotstar

     

    For its first set of Hotstar Specials, Star India has partnered with top names like Shekhar Kapur, Neeraj Pandey, Kabir Khan, Nikkhil Advani, Ram Madhvani, Venkat Prabhu, Sudhir Mishra, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Nagesh Kukunoor, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vishal Furia, Rohan Sippy, Debbie Rao, Sharad Devarajan and Salman Khan.

     

     

  • Shouldn’t Star World have deleted the remark? As a network that cares for women, this act shows some chinks in the armour and/or the fact that the earlier “power social change” bit was spoken because it made for good copy

    1 Minute View: Shouldn’t Star have deleted the obnoxious Hardik Pandya comment?

    1 Minute ViewIt didn’t make us cringe, we were repulsed. It was downright obnoxious. Vulgar. And just for that, we lost all our respect for someone whose skills we admired.

     

    We are referring to Hardik Pandya and his utterances on Koffee with Karan, the chat show hosted by director, failed actor and reality show judge Karan Johar. Okay, let our descriptor of the director not give you an impression that we dislike the man. In fact, we think he’s a great entertainer and has given us some good cinema. Some.

     

    His chat show is entertaining, even if it is more about the sex lives and relationships of stars. A more appropriate title for the show would’ve been Starry lives or Sex lives of Stars with Karan Johar or whatever.

     

    Koffee with Karan is one of Star World’s flagship shows. It’s buzzy, and has made Star World popular and relevant despite being a channel that airs content people prefer to watch first on the internet. Or bingewatch on OTT. Hotstar.

     

    Star is a broadcaster we admire. It’s grown hugely over the years. Over the last decade, its ‘Nayi Soch’ campaign has worked well for a channel (Star Plus) that championed the saas-bahu genre on Hindi mass entertainment.

     

    In recent years, Star has also spearhead the cause of women. Not just for Star Plus but for the entire network. In 2016, it used the route of the Indian men’s cricket team jersey to “power social change” by each cricketer sporting their mother’s name on their jersey backs.

     

    Now how would the mothers, sister, wives, partners, daughters, girlfriends watching the show feel about how a Hardik Pandya would view them if he is ever a few yards away.

     

    We are upset with the way Karan Johan and KL Rahul reacted to Hardik’s remark. But we aren’t surprised. We don’t think Rahul could’ve done much and, frankly, we don’t expect the a film-maker who belongs to Bollywood, an arena that has regarded eve-teasing as an art form, to do much either. Though if he cared, he could have.

     

    Care is the word.

     

    But shouldn’t Star World have deleted the remark? As a network that cares for women, this act shows some chinks in the armour and/or the fact that the earlier “power social change” bit was spoken because it made for good copy.

     

    Did the Star standards and compliances fail? It’s now part of Disney which doesn’t look at these things too kindly. We don’t think this Koffee with Karan show will fail the broadcasters’ self-regulation code, if someone complains to it.

     

    Our peeve is that it didn’t fail Star’s own self-regulatory standards. For the Purani, Regressive soch, we are disappointed. Very.

     

    Update (as at 10.30am, Friday, Jan 11):

    Star India’s popular OTT platform Hotstar has taken off the controversial Koffee with Karan episode. But on going to the page that aired the episode, there’s an Error 404 screen. No apology. No terse regret note either. No reason given for the episode. No ‘nayi soch’ again. Sad.

    See screenshot:

     

  • The channel will bring Kannadiga sports fans closer to their favourite sports

    Star Sports goes Kannada

    By A Correspondent

     

    Star Sports has launched Star Sports 1 Kannada, a dedicated Kannada sports channel. Said a Star India spokesperson: “Our strong presence in Karnataka has helped us understand how Kannadiga sports fans like to consume sports content. Kannadigas possess an inherent sporting quality of resilience and an undying desire to always win. Star Sports 1 Kannada, with its extensive line-up of popular sports content, is a resolute step towards bringing these Kannadiga fans closer to their favourite games and heroes.”

     

    A promo campaign was launched to support the launch of Star Sports 1 Kannada. The promo focuses on watching sports in local language, and the determination and never say die attitude of a kannadiga.

     

     

  • This initiative is in line with the New Tariff Regime beginning December 29th, 2018

    Star India unveils its Star Value Pack

    By A Correspondent

     

    Star India has launched the Star Value Pack in seven languages. The package has channels across entertainment, movies, education and sports. The initiative is in line with the New Tariff Regime beginning December 29 which will see consumers pay only for what they choose.

     

    Said Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director- Star India: “We believe entertainment and sports play a critical role in shaping the nation. By including sports in the Star Value Pack, we aim to make it accessible to every Indian and thus change the way Sports has been consumed in the country. The Star Value Pack offers viewers the very best from our wide canvas of content across general entertainment, movies, sports and knowledge at unbelievably affordable rates. We have been entertaining, inspiring and serving millions of viewers across India for close to 25 years now, and are delighted to empower the consumer further with even greater choice and value.”

     

     

  • Mumbai Indians topped the Duff & Phelps chart followed by KKR at #2

    IPL Brand Value soars 19% to $6.3bn

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Consulting firm Duff & Phelps has announced findings from its IPL Brand Valuation Report – 2018, a report on brand values in the annual Indian Premier League (IPL).

     

    The findings of the fifth edition of Duff & Phelps’ annual study of the IPL suggest an increase in the overall value of the IPL ecosystem from US$ 5.3 billion in 2017 to US$ 6.3 billion in 2018, supported by the broadcasting rights fee surging at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.9%.

     

    The Mumbai Indians, with a brand value of US$ 113.0 million, continue to top the charts for the third season in a row. Kolkata Knight Riders are in second place with a brand value of US$ 104.0 million. The two-year ban imposed on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals has had some bearing on their brand values. However, CSK’s on-field performance and the Dhoni factor helped them to neutralize the negative impact, as they were valued at US$ 98.0 million alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals follow in the brand rankings.

     

    “Star India’s broadcasting rights deal was a game changer that put IPL on par with some of the biggest sporting leagues in the world (on a fee per match basis),”commented Varun Gupta, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps and Asia Pacific Leader for Valuation Services.“The change in content consumption, influx of over-the-top (OTT)and digital viewing platforms and increased support from advertisers, broadcasters and sponsors have given the IPL greater significance in terms of brand

     

    Star India, the new broadcasting partner for the IPL, has given a boost to the broadcast rights fees which increased by a CAGR of 18.9%, notes the report, adding:“Under Star, content delivery expanded to various regional channels across the SIPL universe with commentary in eight different languages, rather than limiting the transmission to sports channels with just English commentary.”

     

    Added Santosh N, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps: “Our IPL brand values report reflects the evolution of the modern cricket business paradigm with clubs benefiting from not only the enduring popularity of cricket in India but also from strong marketing and globalisation of the game. However, for growth trajectories to maintain their momentum, all teams need to continue broadening their footprint, forming relationships and generating revenue opportunities in growth markets. Ultimately, however, much of cricket’s future depends on ensuring the product is of a sufficiently high quality to continue attracting viewers, sponsors and broadcasters, the latter of which have become a vital component for the game’s financial health.”

     

    This season also witnessed the importance of OTT sports viewership which has become an established and fast-growing market, adds the report. Hotstar set a world record of OTT viewership with 10.7 million concurrent viewers, beating the 2012 world record of over 8 million concurrent viewers held by YouTube for Felix Baumgartner’s space jump.This surge in online streaming of IPL and the increasing momentum of OTT as a medium to watch sports online was also one of the key reasons for companies to show willingness to acquire digital rights for streaming IPL.

     

    Finally, social media continues to be an important driver of brand value, notes the Duff & Phelps report.The first week of the previous season of IPL garnered 642,900 mentions on social media platforms. That has gone up to 855,400 in the first week of the 2018 season and to 1.3 million after two weeks.

     

     

  • The tournament scheduled between 22nd – 30th June will have six participating nations- India, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Iran, Argentina and Kenya

    IKF partners Star India to organise Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), with Star India as its broadcast partner, is organising a six nation Kabaddi tournament – Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018, supported by the Dubai Sports Council. The tournament, beginning on the June 22, will be a nine-day sporting event showcasing the best of Kabaddi action, as the six participating nations namely India, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Iran, Argentina and Kenya compete with one another in a Kabaddi battle of nations. The matches would be held at the Al Wasl Sports Club in Dubai and will be aired live at 8 pm IST on the Star Sports Network: SS2, SS2 HD, SS1 Hindi, SS1 Hindi HD, SS1 Tamil.

     

    Said Janardan Singh Gehlot, President, International Kabaddi Federation:“Kabaddi is fast becoming a renowned sport globally, and we at IKF look forward to exploring options for a comprehensive international Kabaddi calendar that is active annually, successfully pinning Kabaddi across the world map. Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 is our first step in that direction and will elevate the stature of our sport considerably.We are thankful to the Dubai Sports Council as well as Star India for their strong role in making this happen.”

     

    Speaking on the initiative, a Star India spokesperson said: “At Star India, it is our endeavour to foster a multisport culture in the country. In line with this, Kabaddi has always been close to us, given the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League.  We are excited about the Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 and firmly believe it will give greater impetus to the sport in the international arena. Given the stature and strength of the participating teams, our viewers can expect top quality best Kabaddi action in exciting and entertaining matches.”

     

     

  • Fevikwik’s‘ Khushiyon kechand pal’ and Swiggy’s ‘No order to small’ win top honours at the Star Re.Imagine Awards

    Ogilvy, Lowe win at Star’s IPL ad awards

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fevikwik and Swiggy bagged top honours at the Star Re.Imagine Awards presented on Monday for excellence in creativity (Best Creative Campaign) and creativity along with the use of integrated media (Best Integrated Creative Campaign) respectively in campaigns that reached out to audiences across TV and Digital at the recently concluded Vivo IPL 2018 on Star India. Additionally, eleven campaigns across nine brands received special mentions. Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director– Star India and Guest of Honour, M S Dhoni felicitated the two winners with spectacular bespoke glass trophies designed by the grandmaster of British Glass studio, Peter Layton.

     

    The winners and other meritorious campaigns were selected by a bespoke jury comprising John Hegarty, Piyush Pandey, Raju Hirani, Vibha Rishi, Rahul Welde and V Sunil. They evaluated over 300 campaigns from over 125 brands (131, to be precise) that had played during the Vivo IPL 2018 till Friday, the May 25, on the Star TV Network and Hotstar. The judges selected campaigns that excelled in both - creativity and leveraging the power of multi-platform TV and Hotstar.

     

    Noted a communique: “All great campaigns are a result of great teamwork. Hence the two winning teams of up to 24 members each from Fevikwik and Swiggy comprising Marketing, Creative, Media etc will be hosted at a bespoke global sporting event. The Star Re.Imagine Awards celebrate and reward not just creativity, but great teamwork as well.”

     

    Said Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director, Star India: “We instituted the Star Re.Imagine Awards 2018 as a platform to enthuse the incredible marketing and advertising talent of India to create magic and disruption this IPL. We heartily congratulate all the winners for having created extremely engaging and inspiring narratives. These campaigns seized the imagination of the biggest ever audiences in an IPL across TV and Digital screens combined and contributed immensely to making the Vivo IPL 2018 a truly delightful experience for all. A very special thank you to all the members of the elite jury who helped immensely in creating a brand for the future – the Star Re.imagine awards.”

     

    Partnering with Star India in this initiative were Sideways and Kyoorius. Dhoni, who not only did the honours to felicitate the winners, also held the audience spellbound with his reminiscences about how he had reimagined his life with cricket.  Dhoni’s arrival in Indian cricket and his subsequent rise is a well-known and much-loved story of unprecedented success.

     

    *************

    List of winners &SpecialMention from the elite jury are:

    Winners:

    1. Best Creative Campaign: Pidilite’s Fevikwik- campaign titled‘Khushiyon ke chand pal’conceptualized by Ogilvy & Mather.

    2. Best Integrated Creative Campaign (leveraging of TV and digital platforms): Swiggy- campaign titled ‘No order to small’conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, Bengaluru.

     

    Brands that received Special Mention from the jury.   (In alphabetical order)

    1. Amazon

    2. Coca-Cola – Brands Coca-Cola & Sprite

    3. Flipkart

    4. Future Group – Brand Factory

    5. Pidilite – Brands -Fevicol Ezee Spray & Dr. Fixit

    6. Peter England

    7. Tata Sky

    8. Vivo

    9. Vodafone

     

  • The new season of ‘Kannadada Kotyadhipati 2018’, the Kannada version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’, will launch next month

    Star Suvarna revamps with 3rd editon of KBC and Ramesh Aravind as host

    By A Correspondent

     

    The third season of Kannadada Kotyadhipati, the Kannada version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ will mark the revamp of Star Suvarna, the Kannada GEC channel of the Star network. The third season of the show  will premiere in June 2018 after a gap of five years.

     

    Said Kevin Vaz, CEO of South Entertainment Channels for Star India : “Star Suvarna is known to provide differentiated and wholesome family entertainment and we are excited to bring Kannadada Kotyadhipati back to the viewers. We are confident that with Mr Ramesh Aravind as the host and the new feature, ‘Play Along’, this show will engage viewers very well, and Star Suvarna will flourish to become Kannadigas favorite channel yet again.”

     

     

  • Distribution key to Star India recovering investments

    So will Star recover the Rs 60.18cr it needs to pay for each India match?

    By A Correspondent

     

    So will Star recover the Rs 60.18cr it needs to pay for each India match? That’s a question that everyone seemed to be asking at the culmination of the e-auction where bidding to own India cricket broadcast rights. Star India logged in the highest bid of Rs 6138 crore for the global consolidated rights package was going ballistic.In the bag for Star are the following:  Global Television Rights plus Rest of the World Digital Rights Package, Indian Subcontinent Digital Rights Package and hence the Global Consolidated Rights Package. This averages out to Rs 60.18 cr per international game.

     

    Earlier, Star India had also secured the broadcast and digital rights for the Vivo Indian Premier League for the next five years. Given this, Star India has a monopoly over all forms of cricket for the next five years.

     

    According to broadcast and media industry folks, while the amount of Rs 60.18 crore appears very high, given the huge interest for the game, Star will hope to recover the monies from not just advertising but from distribution. And while Reliance lost this battle for the direct rights, it will still play a key role in the digital distribution with Jio.

     

    Said Uday Shankar, Chairman, Star India: Having both the IPL and India Domestic and International Rights puts us in a special position. I am confident that Star and BCCI can transform the sporting experience in the country.”

     

    And what about the monies invested. Said Shankar in a statement: “Before the auction began, we had a specific number in mind. The prices reflect the average value of all three formats of the game. I congratulate the BCCI for putting across a scientific and a thoroughly transparent process. You knew the bids at all times, but at no stage did you know the bidder. Having a brutally transparent process is a major factor for their success.”

     

    Said CK Khanna, Acting President of the BCCI: “I congratulate the Star group for securing BCCI’s Domestic and International Rights. The BCCI shares a strong bond with Star and our association will touch new levels in the years to come. The fact that it took three days to decide a winner proves the deep level of interest in Indian cricket.

     

    For Star India it’s a huge win. Echoing this view, Amitabh Choudhary, Acting Honorary Secretary, BCCI, said: “We tried out the E-Auction for the first time and it was a pleasant experience. By securing the BCCI Domestic and International Rights, Star has now completed a hat-trick. I also express my gratitude to Reliance Industries Limited and Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited who completed the E-Auction process and made it a success.”

     

    Added Rahul Johri, CEO, BCCI: “The BCCI had put together a transparent process and I am pleased with the outcome. In the process, we were assisted by Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. The fierce bidding underlines the importance of domestic and international cricket. The supporters of Indian cricket will be treated to some high-quality action not only on the field, but also on television and digital platforms.”

     

    Sony Pictures and Reliance Industries were in the final three shortlisted for the online bidding. According to reports, the Sony bid was of Rs 6118.59 crore, just Rs 19.51 crore short of the Star India bid.