Tag: Amit Chopra

  • Star Bharat’s Dusshera campaign shows why Dhoni, Mithali and Devgn advocated ‘Burn your Fears’

    Star Bharat’s Dusshera campaign shows why Dhoni, Mithali and Devgn advocated ‘Burn your Fears’

    MUMBAI: Star Bharat has unveiled a campaign to further communicate the channel philosophy and inspire the nation to be fearless. Maestro A.R. Rahman’s signature music for Star Bharat is used in these films adding further weight to the thought, Bhula de Darr.

    Leading the movement “Burn your Fear” are icons of the natio — MS Dhoni, Mithali Raj and Ajay Devgn who come together in the campaign produced and directed by Star India’s creative team in association with Leo Burnett who thought of the idea and drafted script. It shows these icons taking the first step and revealing how they overcame their fears and fulfilled their potential and dreams. Their act of proclaiming their deepest fear and “burning it” sends the message that on the other side of fear lies glory, thus encouraging Indians to overcome fears, roadblocks and limitations.

    “As a society we instill fear from childhood right up to adulthood,” says Star India entertainment CEO Amit Chopra, “Of course, this is disguised as caution, prudence or even concern. But the fact of the matter remains that this fear holds us back from achieving our dreams or, maybe even dreaming. “Burn your Fear” inspires people to conquer their fears, unleash their true selves and chase their dreams. Just like the icons in our brand film. The campaign which culminates this Dussehra will be all about burning one’s fears.”

    In the promo film, Dhoni talks about how he had to grapple with the security that his job with the Railways entailed and his dream of being a cricketer. “Cricket mein bhi career na bana, aur ye naukri bhi haath se gayi toh?, he says. “Agar life mein kuchh alag karna hai. Toh iss darr ka saamna toh karna hi padhega. Yaani iss darr ki wicket toh giraani padhegi.”

    Mithali Raj was dissuaded from pursuing cricket. “Jab maine cricket ko apna career banaane ka socha, toh sabne kaha main bahut badhi galti kar rahi hoon. Women’s cricket kaun dekhta hai, she notes in the film. “Per cricketer banna tha, toh banna tha.” Today, she is an inspiration to millions of girls and boys alike.

    Ajay Devgn’s debut film involved a stunt with two bikes. In the promo, he talks about how people around tried to stop him from undertaking this dangerous act. “Sabne samjhaya bevakoofi mat kar. Kuch gadbad ho gayi toh tera career shuru hone se pehle hi khatam ho jaayega, he reminiscences. “Jhoot nahi bolunga, darr toh bahut laga tha. Kahin meri pehli film meri aakhri na ban jaye. Par uss din, agar main darr se darr jata, toh jo aaj hoon vo kabhi na ban pata.”

    Actor Sidharth Malhotra along with the other Bollywood personalities will be seen joining the campaign later.

    The brand campaign will go live across Star India network along with social media; encouraging the nation to share their fears and take the first step towards overcoming them in the journey to achieving their dreams.

  • Moana, Doctor Strange & Star Wars on Star India with multi-year deal with Disney India

    Moana, Doctor Strange & Star Wars on Star India with multi-year deal with Disney India

    MUMBAI: Disney India has signed a multi-year output deal with Star India to telecast some of its successful films across the latter’s network in multiple languages including Hindi, Tamil, English, Telugu and Bengali.

    The collaboration between Disney India and the Star India, over the years, has engaged viewers with blockbuster movies such as “Captain America: Winter Soldier”, Disney.Pixar’s “Inside Out”, Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and Disney’s “Cinderella”.

    The new deal will include titles such as “Moana” and “Doctor Strange” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, IANS reported. The extended partnership kicked off with of 2016’s biggest Hollywood blockbuster in India — Disney’s “The Jungle Book”s television premiere.

    Disney India, vice president, studios Amrita Pandey stated that they believed in bringing quality, family focused entertainment to the audience across all age groups and Star was an ideal platform to take its bouquet of movies across the country.

    Star India CEO-Entertainment Amit Chopra said that the partnership with Disney India was a testimony of its commitment to deliver the best Hollywood content to its viewers.

    Meantime, Hulu, a JV with 21st Century Fox, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Timer Warner’s Turner Broadcasting System, reached its first licensing pact for theatrical features with The Walt Disney Studios (DIS).

    The new, multi-year, deal allows the streaming service the exclusive subscription VOD (video on-demand) rights to a collection of successful movies and family favorites from Disney’s library of blockbuster films.

    Owing to the pact, Hulu became the exclusive S-VOD (subscription video on demand) home to a selection of Disney favorites including Mulan, Pocahontas, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hercules, Sister Act and Air Bud, which are all available to stream on Hulu now.

  • Moana, Doctor Strange & Star Wars on Star India with multi-year deal with Disney India

    Moana, Doctor Strange & Star Wars on Star India with multi-year deal with Disney India

    MUMBAI: Disney India has signed a multi-year output deal with Star India to telecast some of its successful films across the latter’s network in multiple languages including Hindi, Tamil, English, Telugu and Bengali.

    The collaboration between Disney India and the Star India, over the years, has engaged viewers with blockbuster movies such as “Captain America: Winter Soldier”, Disney.Pixar’s “Inside Out”, Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and Disney’s “Cinderella”.

    The new deal will include titles such as “Moana” and “Doctor Strange” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, IANS reported. The extended partnership kicked off with of 2016’s biggest Hollywood blockbuster in India — Disney’s “The Jungle Book”s television premiere.

    Disney India, vice president, studios Amrita Pandey stated that they believed in bringing quality, family focused entertainment to the audience across all age groups and Star was an ideal platform to take its bouquet of movies across the country.

    Star India CEO-Entertainment Amit Chopra said that the partnership with Disney India was a testimony of its commitment to deliver the best Hollywood content to its viewers.

    Meantime, Hulu, a JV with 21st Century Fox, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Timer Warner’s Turner Broadcasting System, reached its first licensing pact for theatrical features with The Walt Disney Studios (DIS).

    The new, multi-year, deal allows the streaming service the exclusive subscription VOD (video on-demand) rights to a collection of successful movies and family favorites from Disney’s library of blockbuster films.

    Owing to the pact, Hulu became the exclusive S-VOD (subscription video on demand) home to a selection of Disney favorites including Mulan, Pocahontas, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hercules, Sister Act and Air Bud, which are all available to stream on Hulu now.

  • Star India appoints ex Mondelez director Narayan Sundararaman as Star Plus GM

    Star India appoints ex Mondelez director Narayan Sundararaman as Star Plus GM

    MUMBAI: Star India has yet appointed former Mondelez International director of process transformation Narayan Sundararaman as general manager of its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Star Plus.

    Tasked with shaping the business agenda for the channel, Narayan Sundararaman will report to the network’s Entertainment CEO Amit Chopra.

    He will oversee drama and movie channels across national and regional channels in Hindi, English, Bengali and Marathi.

    Sundararaman comes from Mondelez International where he was Director for process transformation. Sundararaman was with Mondelez for about 17 years. Prior to Mondelez, he was with ITC for about three years. Sundararaman has also been a consultant in the marketing field for a while now.

  • Star India appoints ex Mondelez director Narayan Sundararaman as Star Plus GM

    Star India appoints ex Mondelez director Narayan Sundararaman as Star Plus GM

    MUMBAI: Star India has yet appointed former Mondelez International director of process transformation Narayan Sundararaman as general manager of its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Star Plus.

    Tasked with shaping the business agenda for the channel, Narayan Sundararaman will report to the network’s Entertainment CEO Amit Chopra.

    He will oversee drama and movie channels across national and regional channels in Hindi, English, Bengali and Marathi.

    Sundararaman comes from Mondelez International where he was Director for process transformation. Sundararaman was with Mondelez for about 17 years. Prior to Mondelez, he was with ITC for about three years. Sundararaman has also been a consultant in the marketing field for a while now.

  • Major restructuring in Star India; Uday Shankar, chairman & CEO, Sanjay Gupta, MD

    Major restructuring in Star India; Uday Shankar, chairman & CEO, Sanjay Gupta, MD

    MUMBAI: Star India announced a series of leadership changes as part of an organizational shift to strategic business units where Uday Shankar will be chairman and CEO.The current COO Sanjay Gupta has been elevated to Star India’s managing director and K. Madhavan will be managing director-South.

    Both Gupta and Madhavan will continue to report to Shankar. These changes position the organization to meet its future growth ambitions on the back of a decade of rapid growth.

    “Star India consistently sets the standard for innovation and growth in one of the world’s most exciting markets,” said 21st Century Fox chief executive officer James Murdoch. “Uday, Sanjay, Madhavan and the entire Star India team have built a world-class business that has grown at double the industry rate. We are proud of its success and look forward to the next chapter of growth under Uday’s transformational leadership.”

    Star has established empowered business units each with its own CEO reporting to Sanjay Gupta. Amit Chopra appointed as CEO of entertainment, which spans drama and movie channels across national and regional channels in Hindi, English, Bengali and Marathi. While, Sports CEO Nitin Kukreja, which includes a leading portfolio of channels under the Star Sports banner.

    Ajit Mohan is now CEO digital, which oversees Hotstar, Star’s revolutionary digital platform which recently surpassed 50 million downloads and Vijay Singh has also been upped as the CEO of Fox Star Studios, which produces and distributes Bollywood and Regional films.

    Kevin Vaz has been appointed as South CEO and will be reporting to K. Madhavan. The South business unit incorporates all of Star’s business interests in the Southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

    In another first, a pan-India content studio will be set up to drive cutting edge innovation in programming under Gaurav Banerjee who will report into Sanjay Gupta. The corporate centre will continue largely unchanged.

    “I congratulate Sanjay, Madhavan and the CEOs on their elevation. This is a world class team that has powered Star to the No. 1 position in the media and entertainment industry in India. Now, I personally and the entire team are even more dedicated to the cause of using Star’s reach in India to inspire the imaginations of a billion Indians. To do this, we need to continuously innovate and disrupt. We have set ourselves a bold growth agenda and these changes will deepen the leadership bench, unlock entrepreneurial energy and position Star better to deliver on its ambitions,” said Star India chairman & CEO Uday Shankar.

  • Major restructuring in Star India; Uday Shankar, chairman & CEO, Sanjay Gupta, MD

    Major restructuring in Star India; Uday Shankar, chairman & CEO, Sanjay Gupta, MD

    MUMBAI: Star India announced a series of leadership changes as part of an organizational shift to strategic business units where Uday Shankar will be chairman and CEO.The current COO Sanjay Gupta has been elevated to Star India’s managing director and K. Madhavan will be managing director-South.

    Both Gupta and Madhavan will continue to report to Shankar. These changes position the organization to meet its future growth ambitions on the back of a decade of rapid growth.

    “Star India consistently sets the standard for innovation and growth in one of the world’s most exciting markets,” said 21st Century Fox chief executive officer James Murdoch. “Uday, Sanjay, Madhavan and the entire Star India team have built a world-class business that has grown at double the industry rate. We are proud of its success and look forward to the next chapter of growth under Uday’s transformational leadership.”

    Star has established empowered business units each with its own CEO reporting to Sanjay Gupta. Amit Chopra appointed as CEO of entertainment, which spans drama and movie channels across national and regional channels in Hindi, English, Bengali and Marathi. While, Sports CEO Nitin Kukreja, which includes a leading portfolio of channels under the Star Sports banner.

    Ajit Mohan is now CEO digital, which oversees Hotstar, Star’s revolutionary digital platform which recently surpassed 50 million downloads and Vijay Singh has also been upped as the CEO of Fox Star Studios, which produces and distributes Bollywood and Regional films.

    Kevin Vaz has been appointed as South CEO and will be reporting to K. Madhavan. The South business unit incorporates all of Star’s business interests in the Southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

    In another first, a pan-India content studio will be set up to drive cutting edge innovation in programming under Gaurav Banerjee who will report into Sanjay Gupta. The corporate centre will continue largely unchanged.

    “I congratulate Sanjay, Madhavan and the CEOs on their elevation. This is a world class team that has powered Star to the No. 1 position in the media and entertainment industry in India. Now, I personally and the entire team are even more dedicated to the cause of using Star’s reach in India to inspire the imaginations of a billion Indians. To do this, we need to continuously innovate and disrupt. We have set ourselves a bold growth agenda and these changes will deepen the leadership bench, unlock entrepreneurial energy and position Star better to deliver on its ambitions,” said Star India chairman & CEO Uday Shankar.

  • Star India revenue head Amit Chopra to look after distribution

    Star India revenue head Amit Chopra to look after distribution

    MUMBAI: Star India had announced change of roles for its distribution head Krishan Kutty to business head English cluster on January 18. This left the distribution head’s post empty.

    A senior official at Star India told www.indiantelevision.com that the network was looking for a permanent replacement, “Currently revenue head Amit Chopra is looking after the distribution business as an add on to his existing portfolio and he will continue to do do until further developments are announced.”

    In 2013 Chopra made his move to Star India from HT Media where he was CEO of its listed arm, Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL). Chopra joined Star India as head of sales and later in 2015 was the revenue head.

  • Star India revenue head Amit Chopra to look after distribution

    Star India revenue head Amit Chopra to look after distribution

    MUMBAI: Star India had announced change of roles for its distribution head Krishan Kutty to business head English cluster on January 18. This left the distribution head’s post empty.

    A senior official at Star India told www.indiantelevision.com that the network was looking for a permanent replacement, “Currently revenue head Amit Chopra is looking after the distribution business as an add on to his existing portfolio and he will continue to do do until further developments are announced.”

    In 2013 Chopra made his move to Star India from HT Media where he was CEO of its listed arm, Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL). Chopra joined Star India as head of sales and later in 2015 was the revenue head.

  • Starsports.com gains big by streaming IPL 2014

    Starsports.com gains big by streaming IPL 2014

    MUMBAI: The nation is caught in the Pepsi IPL 2014 fever. The series that is being streamed on starsports.com, in its first week, has managed to garner an unprecedented traction of more than a million visitors every day. During the period, starsports.com has attracted around 47 lakh unique visitors across web and mobile delivering just more than a crore visits.

     

    During the first seven matches played in the current season, 150 million minutes of video were consumed by users with an average of more than 32 minutes per match. Consumption on mobile now stands at 42 per cent of the overall traffic. The majority of the viewer base is in the age group of 18-24 years in the top eight metro cities which contribute to overall 60 per cent of the traffic. Gender specifically, female traffic saw a significant surge contributing 27 per cent of the overall audience.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Star India EVP and head, new media Ajit Mohan said, “IPL 2014 is perhaps a turning point for sports consumption. For the first time, online consumption of sports is becoming about video, video, and video. And, our investment in creating a world class backbone for video delivery is showing up as a significant improvement in the experience for sports fans, especially on a mobile screen.”

     

    Since its inception in December 2012, starsports.com has invested heavily to build a video infrastructure customized for India, where the experience is characterized by a proliferation of mobile devices and where a large number of consumers still have access to low bandwidth. In addition, for IPL, the company has leveraged its television infrastructure to deliver mid-rolls (advertisements in the middle of the overs) in addition to the already prevalent pre-rolls (advertisements which roll before the start of the video). 

     

    Video streaming of Pepsi IPL 2014 on the sports website has attracted many sponsors-HUL as the presenting sponsor and amazon.in, Toyota, ITC Personal Care and Reckitt Benckiser as associate sponsors.

     

    Star India president sales Amit Chopra added, “The most innovative advertisers in India are recognising the power of the mobile screen. Many of them have been hesitant in the past about investing in video ads online, given the sketchy delivery of both content and ads. We have been able to offer a powerful proposition to these advertisers by delivering a great video experience and a highly engaged sports fan.”

     

    Powered by live and video rights, the rich digital platform covers many world sports like major cricket tournaments, BPL, La Liga and Serie A in football, F1, hockey, tennis and badminton.