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Tag: Peter Chernin

  • Comment: The rise and rise of Uday Shankar

    Comment: The rise and rise of Uday Shankar

    MUMBAI: From not having enough money to afford even a TV set in Delhi in 1991 when he was a newspaper reporter to heading Star India, one of the most admired Indian media and entertainment companies, for a decade to now being appointed as 21st Century Fox Asia president, it has been quite a journey for Uday Shankar. A well-deserved and rewarding one at that.

    Today, Shankar is one of the few professionals from India to get region-wide responsibility for a global media powerhouse. Executives such as Man Jit Singh, who heads Sony Pictures Home Entertainment globally, and Bedi A Singh, who was News Corp CFO for a long time, have preceded him but both are Indians who rose up the ranks in the US.

    Shankar has, however, earned his stripes growing the Star India business, which in the first quarter had an EBDITA of $100 million and is on course to hit $500 million in 2017-2018 (in the words of 21st Century Fox (21CF) chairman James Murdoch). The 2020 EBDITA target, as spelt out by 21CF, is twice that, and the Murdochs say it is well on course to be achieved.

    When he was handpicked by the then News Corp COO Peter Chernin to take over Star in October 2007 (some say on the advice of the then outgoing company head in India), Shankar knew very little about the entertainment business. All his experience had been in news–whether print or television. He had had stints with several print media publications (his first was The Times of India around 1990) as a political correspondent and last was as one of the founders of environment magazine Down To Earth before the TV news bug bit him.

    Shankar took to the TV medium with ferocity—doing stints at Zee TV’s news channel as a news producer, the Hindustan Times promoted Home TV (it shut down quickly), production house Sri Adhikari Brothers, Sahara TV, and then India Today group’s Aaj Tak and Headlines Today, two channels he helped stabilise and grow over the next six seven years. His talent for being a journalist who got things done did not go unnoticed and he was asked to lead Star News, a joint venture with Kolkata-based ABP group, after CEO Ravina Raj Kohli departed.

    It was at Star News that he blossomed as an executive—a TV exec to be precise—and caught the attention of Chernin and the Murdochs. The rest, as they say, is history.

    Today, under his leadership, the Star network has expanded into regional language channels and produces close to 17,000 hours of content each year in eight languages. The route it has taken to get there: acquisition of the South India-based Maa network, Asianet and via launch of channels such as the Bengali-language Star Jalsa.

    A journalist with little entertainment content creation experience when he was appointed, Shankar has steered Star into creating TV content that has been path breaking over the past 10 years, dealing with social issues, apart from helping position it as a network that produces classy shows but with a social purpose. So much so that Star India shows command an advertising premium even if the channel is not topping viewership ratings. Even on the affiliate revenues front, Shankar has played hardball.

    But one of the boldest moves taken by Star under him—some critics may choose to describe it as foolhardy—was to take on broadcast and telecom regulator TRAI late 2016 when Star India and its affiliate Vijay TV challenged in court the regulator’s jurisdiction over matters relating to copyrights, which effectively has stalled implementation of a new tariff and inter-connect regime announced by TRAI in October 2016. The case is still pending a final verdict in Madras High Court till the time of writing this piece.

    Amongst the early movers in the OTT space, Shankar has made Star invest big in customer acquisition and pushed its digital platform Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan to go out and not only acquire new business, but also devise a distribution strategy that could be sliced and diced as per needs of the geographical markets. So, Hotstar’s distribution and subscription strategy for the US and Canada market, heavily subscription revenue-led, could be quite different from that pushed in India, where making available content practically free to subscriber initially is aimed at hooking the viewer before he’s seduced to the pay model.

    Though Shankar is not known to be a great fan of gambling—even during Diwali when in India playing cards with cash is considered auspicious or for good `shagun’—he gambled big on the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) global rights for five years. Star not only played smart, outbidding incumbent rights holder SPN India and some global digital players sniffing at commercially viable Indian cricket rights, but also raised the bar to clinch the hand with a bet of $ 2.55 billion. Raising the stakes flattened competition.

    Under Shankar, Star has also ploughed huge investments into creating and acquiring sports properties such as the Pro Kabaddi League, the BCCI national cricket domestic rights, the domestic soccer league ISL in collaboration with Reliance Industries, table tennis, badminton, and many others sports.

    The recent promotion of Shankar means he has won the confidence of the Murdochs and the boards of News Corp and 21CF to replicate in Asia what he has done in India, long referred to as a jewel in the crown of the Murdoch media empire. While 21CF has done well in markets such as Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea, scale has been something that’s been missing. Shankar is expected now start building that.

    By promoting him to head Asia, 21 CF has also ensured that if a deal with Disney does happen (media reports emanating from all parts of globe say the approx USD 60 billion deal could happen sooner rather than later), it will be—very well could be—Shankar who will be scripting the new Asian story. Currently, Disney has two Asian heads: one for south east and south Asia and the other for north Asia. With him being designated as the boss, the reporting lines too could change with Mahesh Samat reporting to Shankar.

    How has Shankar managed this rags-to-riches story in the cut-throat corporate world of global media? Shankar himself gives a hint. Casually leaning against the main exit to the executive floor at level 37 in the South Parel office of Star, housing the leadership team, while escorting out a couple of senior editors of Indiantelevision.com after an interview in September, he was asked what made him tick. The recorder was off and the interview had ended, but what he said was revealing.

    According to Shankar, though he considers he has miles yet to travel (wherein he’d continue reading thought-provoking books like Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind), his satisfaction comes from the fact that he has managed to assemble a string of high-calibre professionals as heads of various Star businesses who at least specialise in or know better one thing extra about the business than the chief. “This gives me great satisfaction as I know the business is in safe hands,” he said with a poker face.

    In the end, one of his mentors, Siddhartha Ray (Delhiwallahs say he’s one of the few friend-philosopher-guides of Shankar), who also happens to be the first GM of Star TV in India in the early 1990s, aptly summed up the X factor: “What makes Uday so successful? He’s a quick learner, good man-manager and an adept environment manager.”

    At Indiantelevision.com, we would wish Uday Shankar more wind beneath his wings so that he can soar higher.

    ALSO READ:

    Uday Shankar becomes president of 21st Century Fox Asia

    Star’s Uday Shankar on distribution challenges, IPL, FTA vs. pay TV…and much more

  • The rationale behind Star India’s reorganization

    The rationale behind Star India’s reorganization

    MUMBAI: The buzz had been gathering pace since Ficci Frames in Mumbai at the beginning of this month. Change is  afoot at India’s leading media and entertainment major the 21st Century Fox owned Star India. But nobody was willing to say what. The company’s executives murmured that its businesses had developed octopus like and CEO Uday Shankar along with 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch was planning a managerial rejig.

    Management firm The Boston Consulting Group had been given the mandate of coming up with an organizational structure that would empower Star India’s senior executive team, unleash their expertise to execute and monetise the business strategy that Uday has put in place for the group to the fullest.

    The reorganization would allow Uday, who has been leading Star India at a frenetic pace over  the past few years to have some breathing space to further evolve the business plans that the Murdochs have for their Asian jewel and also get a helicopter view of the goings-on.

    And today’s announcement at a town hall within Star India seems to be a master stroke of sorts, according to several Star observers. A former Star India executive went as far as to say that it is a stroke of genius.  According to him, the entire burden of steering the company into the behemoth that it has become had fallen on Uday.

    When he was handpicked out of nowhere by the then News Corp COO Peter Chernin and Star group boss Paul Aiello to run Star India as its COO – a terrain he was not really familiar with – it was a market leader which had lost its way and was a much smaller operation: focused on simple general entertainment with a small interest in regional languages and sport. There was very little strength in senior management. Uday first went about tweaking the programming and took the network gradually to the No 1 spot. He simultaneously brought in senior professionals from the best companies to strengthen his core team. Over the years, he offloaded  investments Star India had made in other ventures, pumped in money into acquiring other regional networks,  made big bets on  sports and sports television, steered the media and entertainment major into the digital VOD ecosystem. And he roped in even more professionals to incubate these forays.

    The Star India of today is a very different beast from the one it was when he first stepped into its offices.

    Observers say that by elevating  himself  as chairman and CEO he has taken the load off his shoulders and is sharing the burden with his fellow professionals.  “He’s done the hard work with the various executive teams putting together all these verticals,” says a management consultant. “Now he’s empowering them allowing them to function like intrapreneurs. Which is the best thing he could do.”

    Thus Sanjay Gupta, the current COO has been elevated to managing director-Star India and K. Madhavan to managing director-South. Both Gupta and Madhavan will continue to report to Uday Shankar. Madhavan will have Kevin Vaz reporting to him as his CEO and looking after all of Star India’s southern interests.

    Sanjay on his part has a clutch of CEOs reporting into him responsible for key silos:

    empowered business units each with its own CEO reporting to Sanjay Gupta:

    · Amit Chopra, CEO of Entertainment, which spans drama and movie channels across national and regional channels in Hindi, English, Bengali and Marathi

    · Nitin Kukreja, CEO of Sports, which includes a leading portfolio of channels under the Star Sports banner

    · Ajit Mohan, CEO of Digital, which oversees Hotstar.  

    · Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox STAR Studios, which produces and distributes Bollywood and regional films

    * A Pan Indian content studio headed by Gaurav Banerjee to produce cutting edge innovation in programming.

    “This is a world class team that has powered Star  to the No. 1 position in the Media and Entertainment industry in India,” said Uday in a press release issued today on the reorganization. “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.”

    Top of that ambition heap is the target to attain an operating profit of $1 billion plus by  from 21st Century Fox’s Indian offshoot by 2020. With that rock solid team in place, Uday and James  will have more energetic legs to race to the finishing post.

  • The rationale behind Star India’s reorganization

    The rationale behind Star India’s reorganization

    MUMBAI: The buzz had been gathering pace since Ficci Frames in Mumbai at the beginning of this month. Change is  afoot at India’s leading media and entertainment major the 21st Century Fox owned Star India. But nobody was willing to say what. The company’s executives murmured that its businesses had developed octopus like and CEO Uday Shankar along with 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch was planning a managerial rejig.

    Management firm The Boston Consulting Group had been given the mandate of coming up with an organizational structure that would empower Star India’s senior executive team, unleash their expertise to execute and monetise the business strategy that Uday has put in place for the group to the fullest.

    The reorganization would allow Uday, who has been leading Star India at a frenetic pace over  the past few years to have some breathing space to further evolve the business plans that the Murdochs have for their Asian jewel and also get a helicopter view of the goings-on.

    And today’s announcement at a town hall within Star India seems to be a master stroke of sorts, according to several Star observers. A former Star India executive went as far as to say that it is a stroke of genius.  According to him, the entire burden of steering the company into the behemoth that it has become had fallen on Uday.

    When he was handpicked out of nowhere by the then News Corp COO Peter Chernin and Star group boss Paul Aiello to run Star India as its COO – a terrain he was not really familiar with – it was a market leader which had lost its way and was a much smaller operation: focused on simple general entertainment with a small interest in regional languages and sport. There was very little strength in senior management. Uday first went about tweaking the programming and took the network gradually to the No 1 spot. He simultaneously brought in senior professionals from the best companies to strengthen his core team. Over the years, he offloaded  investments Star India had made in other ventures, pumped in money into acquiring other regional networks,  made big bets on  sports and sports television, steered the media and entertainment major into the digital VOD ecosystem. And he roped in even more professionals to incubate these forays.

    The Star India of today is a very different beast from the one it was when he first stepped into its offices.

    Observers say that by elevating  himself  as chairman and CEO he has taken the load off his shoulders and is sharing the burden with his fellow professionals.  “He’s done the hard work with the various executive teams putting together all these verticals,” says a management consultant. “Now he’s empowering them allowing them to function like intrapreneurs. Which is the best thing he could do.”

    Thus Sanjay Gupta, the current COO has been elevated to managing director-Star India and K. Madhavan to managing director-South. Both Gupta and Madhavan will continue to report to Uday Shankar. Madhavan will have Kevin Vaz reporting to him as his CEO and looking after all of Star India’s southern interests.

    Sanjay on his part has a clutch of CEOs reporting into him responsible for key silos:

    empowered business units each with its own CEO reporting to Sanjay Gupta:

    · Amit Chopra, CEO of Entertainment, which spans drama and movie channels across national and regional channels in Hindi, English, Bengali and Marathi

    · Nitin Kukreja, CEO of Sports, which includes a leading portfolio of channels under the Star Sports banner

    · Ajit Mohan, CEO of Digital, which oversees Hotstar.  

    · Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox STAR Studios, which produces and distributes Bollywood and regional films

    * A Pan Indian content studio headed by Gaurav Banerjee to produce cutting edge innovation in programming.

    “This is a world class team that has powered Star  to the No. 1 position in the Media and Entertainment industry in India,” said Uday in a press release issued today on the reorganization. “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.”

    Top of that ambition heap is the target to attain an operating profit of $1 billion plus by  from 21st Century Fox’s Indian offshoot by 2020. With that rock solid team in place, Uday and James  will have more energetic legs to race to the finishing post.

  • Peter Chernin backs former Viacom exec Van Toffler’s new digital studio

    Peter Chernin backs former Viacom exec Van Toffler’s new digital studio

    MUMBAI: Former MTV and Viacom executive Van Toffler has launched a new digital content studio called Gunpowder & Sky, which is being backed by Peter Chernin.
     
    Toffler has joined hands with former Endemol global head of strategy Floris Bauer, and Otter Media, which is the digital joint venture between Chernin Group and AT&T – to form Gunpowder & Sky.
     
    The new studio will focus on cutting-edge entertainment for millennial audiences of varying lengths from 90 seconds to 90 minutes, which will be distributed online globally online.
     
    Chernin Group CEO Peter Chernin said, “Gunpowder & Sky is a bold move for us into what we think is the next great opportunity in content production — producing premium groundbreaking video with up-and-coming as well as established writers, directors and talent for primary distribution on emerging platforms.”
     
    “The organising principle is, we want to nurture and find people with new ideas about how to tell stories. And we want to do that globally, with stuff that lives primarily in the digital ecosystem,” said Toffler, who will head Gunpowder & Sky as CEO.
     
    In a statement, Chernin called Gunpower & Sky “the next great opportunity” in content production with new as well as established writers, directors and talent for distribution on emerging digital platforms.
  • Graphic India raises $2.8 million to create mobile content

    Graphic India raises $2.8 million to create mobile content

    MUMBAI: Graphic India has closed a new seed-financing round of $2.8 million. 

     

    The financing was led by CA Media, the Asian investment arm of Peter Chernin’s The Chernin Group that had picked up a stake in Graphic India in 2013, and Michael Maher’s New York based Start Media. The other investors in the seed-financing include Backflip Studios Julian Farrior and Dale Thoms.

     

    The funds raised will be utilised to create content in English, Hindi, Tamil and other Indian languages for the Indian youth to consume on their mobile devices. India has more than 850 active mobile connections and 550 million people under the age of 25.

     

    Graphic India is looking at launching a new wave of enduring characters and mythic heroes for audiences in India and around the world.

     

    Graphic India CEO and co-founder Sharad Devarajan said, “The next Steven Spielberg, JK Rowling, Stan Lee or Miyazaki exists somewhere in India, ready to change the world through their stories. At Graphic, we will find these breakthrough talents and give them the resources and the digital platform to share their creativity with the world. This new financing will expand our content offering and allow us to create India’s premiere mobile platform for comics and animation – engaging and building a passionate community of superhero, sci-fi and mythology fans through Graphic’s content and characters.”

     

    Over the next few months, Graphic India will unveil a number of digital products and apps in India to build direct engagement with the growing community of comic book and animation fans in the country.

     

    “We have always believed in the immense potential of Graphic India. An amalgamation of talent and creativity, the characters, heroes and stories from Graphic India, tap into the unique ingenuity and culture of India, but appeal to audiences worldwide. With smart phones increasingly becoming the preferred medium of entertainment for the youth and the ever increasing consumer reach of mobiles in India, the move towards expanding their offering and creating content for smart phones and tablets will give them with a significant boost and enthuse the next generation of comic buffs,” added Chernin Asia Media Group COO Rajesh Kamat.

     

    Founded in January 2013, by Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Suresh Seetharaman, Graphic India had previously raised $2.5 million in initial seed financing from CA Media.

     

  • Creating the world’s largest content production behemoth

    Creating the world’s largest content production behemoth

    MUMBAI: When it’s the Murdochs you have to think big. Big with a capital B.  No less. Consider the 21st Century Fox’s latest announcement that it has entered into a preliminary agreement, with funds managed by affiliates of private equity (PE) firm Apollo Global Management to form a joint venture that seeks to bring the Shine Group, Core Media Group, and Endemol under one umbrella.

     

    The new initiative has conditions attached.  It will have to be jointly owned and managed by the two groups. 21st Century gave no assurances that the proposed transaction would be completed. 

     

    But if it does go through, it will create the world’s largest independent production engine (estimates are that its valuation will be in the region of $2 billion). The proposed Apollo 21st Century joint venture will boast a roster of shows such as Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, The Money Drop and Your Face Sounds Familiar, Total Wipeout, The Million Pound Drop Live, Peaky Blinders and Ripper Street (under Endemol); MasterChef, The Face, The Biggest Loser, The Bridge and Broadchurch (through Shine) and So You think You can Dance and American Idol (through Core Media).

     

    Both 21st Century and Apollo have their own compulsions to make the deal happen, though how it will happen is not clear. Shine, Endemol and Core Media own a complex web of production companies worldwide headed by various senior executives.

     

    Apollo, for its part, has been eager to consolidate its TV production holdings through Endemol and Core Media and even find a partner to further its global ambitions. It has $125 billion in assets in several sectors in its portfolio.

     

    Apollo wanted a piece of the content production pie and forayed into TV production when it acquired CKX Media (along with it came Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment which co-owns the Idol format franchise) in 2011, renaming it later as Core Media.  

     

    The PE firm then went on to expand its TV production presence by acquiring a stake in Endemol after buying out owners Goldman Sachs and Sylvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset in 2012.  Endemol has a presence in 30 countries through 90 companies, makes more than 15,000 hours of programming every year for 300 broadcasters and has a handsome catalogue of 2000 formats.

     

    Apollo currently co-owns Endemol with Cyrte Investments (a fund closely associated with Endemol founder John de Mol and now renamed as Daysim Investment Strategies).  It tried to merge Core and Endemol but backed off when de Mol opposed the move in 2012. De Mol, for his part, attempted to unite Endemol with his current media vehicle Talpa Media earlier this year, but jettisoned the deal when the sticker price went up.

     

    Earlier, in 2012, Apollo explored the possibility of fusing Endemol and Core Media with investment from former News Corp CEO Peter Chernin’s Chernin Entertainment. But the discussions were aborted.

     

    Murdoch has his own imperatives to make the deal happen. It gives 21st Century the opportunity to exit from the Shine group, which was acquired by News Corp in 2011 for $675 million. He had come under severe criticism of nepotism as Shine was founded and run by his daughter Elisabeth, who now functions as its chairman. Today, Shine is owned by 21st Century after Murdoch restructured News Corp into two units – News Corp and 21st Century – following the phone hacking and police bribery scandals in the UK.  And it has 26 production companies across 11 countries including Shine TV, Shine America, Judos Film & TV and Princess Production in its portfolio.

     

    The deal is an indication of how Murdoch sees his media empire structured going forward. His movie production and television broadcasting businesses figure under a single vehicle 21st Century.  His newspaper and publishing interests under News Corp. His satellite, platforms and pay TV business under British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB – has recently announced that it has made an offer to acquire 21st Century’s investment in Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia, leading pay TV platforms in Europe).

     

    BSkyB, Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland are owned by 21st Century with differing equity stakes. And his content production business is now slated to be under the joint Apollo and Shine venture.

     

    The proposal is timely. The content production landscape is undergoing a wave of consolidation: recently, Discovery Communications and Liberty Global agreed to buy UK production company All3Media for $930 million and Britain’s ITV snapped up 80 per cent of Leftfield Productions for $360 million.

     

    Agglomeration in content production in Europe and the US is following in the wake of consolidation in the pay TV business, where companies such as Comcast are showing an urge to merge in order to strengthen their negotiation power with content providers.

     

    The Apollo-21st Century joint venture, if it goes through according to reports, will also focus on expanding the combined entity’s focus beyond unscripted formats to scripted shows and on digital productions for online and over the top service providers. And, if it does get realised, it could spark off another wave of acquistions by other content producers as they try and join the getting-scale race too.

  • “Our aim is clear: creating content and news and distributing it as far and wide as we can.”

    “Our aim is clear: creating content and news and distributing it as far and wide as we can.”

    52-year old Peter Chernin does not come across like your typical media CEO. No flamboyance, no arrogance, no showing off. Just a regular business guy. The bespectacled chief operating officer of News Corp and Rupert Murdoch’s No 2 looks more like a number cruncher or an economist. An affable one too. Which he is.

    He is behind such mega blockbusters as Speed, Titanic and Independence Day, which he steered when at the Fox film studio in the early nineties. Impressed with his ability, Murdoch gave him the responsibility of running the Fox Entertainment Group (80 per cent owned by News Corp) in 1998. Which he has done fabulously well with his charge accounting for 75 per cent of News Corp’s overall operating earnings.

    He is seen to be the perfect foil to the septuagenarian Murdoch. And also a tough negotiator as Disney found out when Michael Eisner bought the Family Channel from News for $5.2 billion, a billion more than he should have paid.

    Chernin is also pretty well-informed about News Corp’s Asian and Indian operations in particular. In fact he reeled off details, which shows why News Corp remains one of the most solid media companies in the world today.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Anil Wanvari caught up with Chernin in Cannes’ Carlton Hotel during Mipcom. Chernin was awarded the Personality of the Year award by the Reed Midem. Excerpts from the interview:

    What are your views about your pet initiative – the battle against piracy? And would you reinvest the savings in the business if piracy was reduced ?

    The film business is going through a crunch time thanks to piracy. It is growing in single digits. If piracy was reduced, we could look at investing the money back. The movie business loves 20-30 per cent margins. Nevertheless budgets are going up. You can’t make a movie with a camera alone these days. The average price of a movie is $85 million. About $55 billion goes into production, another $30 million is needed for promotion and marketing. It is a tough business. The movie business is not about charity. It will disappear if things are not controlled on this front.

    From the consumer perspective if consumers don’t cut down on piracy, they will not have movies to watch. It is crucial they look at it from that aspect.

    What are the expansion plans for News Corp? Would you buy a broadcaster in the UK now that laws are proposed to be changed to allow foreigners to own networks there?

    We are very consistent that we are not interested in buying a broadcaster in the UK. We are interested in expanding the existing TV channel business. Hence, National Geographic, Adventure Channel, Fox Entertainment – which has moved in to Spain and Italy. We have invested less than $30 million for the new Fox entertainment channel we will launch in the UK.

    As far as Sky Italia goes, it is very early days as yet. We launched only on 31 July there. The response has been very positive. The conversion has been very good: about 50,000 boxes a week. We also discovered that there was a lot of piracy when it was run by Telepiu. Almost 50 per cent of our new subscribers have boxes. But now that has been stemmed. There have been no cases of breaking in of our smart cards since we started.

    Our aim is clear: creating content and news and distributing it as far and wide as we can.

    With the Direct TV approval also to come, we have got a lot on our plate today.

    We want to focus on the businesses we have. In Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Star TV India has a huge profit potential. In China, we are beginning to do well. We have moved into the middle east.

    What about your plans to move into DTH in India? The group tried once in 1997, but it failed singularly then?

    The only place in the new markets we see potential for DTH is in India. And we will abide by and live under all regularity norms the countries that we operate in ask us to. You saw that in the Star News case. We see limits on ownership and those are fine by us.

    Hasn’t Zee TV beaten you to the launch of DTH in India?

    Zee TV has not launched as yet. They keep making announcements. It is a soft launch. And you are not going to see a hard launch of Zee TV’s DTH.

    What do you have to say about James Murdoch’s candidature to head BSkyB?

    I’d like to see him as CEO of BSkyB. We could have gone through the process: hiring a recruiting firm, the nominating committee and the board. And I believe James would have fitted the bill. News Corp has in the past put in place candidates into BkyB and they have done well: Sam Chisolm, Tony Ball. Our track record has been good.

    We will not put in an inferior candidate into place into what has been built into a huge business. There is a fair bit of noise being made about James. It think it is ironic. The media should quieten down. He is a very experienced executive. A professional. He has built up India into the fastest growing business we see. Let him come in. The people in the UK will love him. I am sure the BSkyB guys in London must be talking to their colleagues in Star Hong Kong to find out whether he is a good guy or a jerk. And the verdict is going to turn out to be very positive. At the end of the day we need a good guy for the job. Which he is.

  • Chernin bids $500 million to buy Hulu, reports

    Chernin bids $500 million to buy Hulu, reports

    MUMBAI: Former News Corp President Peter Chernin is said to have made a bid for online video streaming service Hulu at a bid amount of $500 million.

    A couple of years earlier, Chernin had bid for the company he had helped to create but it had been rejected. Hulu is co-owned by News Corp, Comcast and Disney.

    Reports indicate that there is lack of clarity in terms of where Hulu – which is losing money – is going.

    Chernin in his venture CA Media got funding from Providence Equity Partners which was Hulu‘s initial investor but sold its stake last year. If Chernin ended up buying the site, Providence would essentially end up as a Hulu backer again.

    If Chernin does buy Hulu it is possible that it would also look at India. CA Media is headed here by Rajesh Kamat.

  • Chernin Group invests in online video firm Base79

    Chernin Group invests in online video firm Base79

    MUMBAI: The Chernin Group (TCG) has acquired a strategic equity stake in European online video company Base79. Also participating in this round of equity financing is existing investor MMC Ventures.

    The investment is estimated to be $10 million for a 20 per cent stake. Funds have come from the investment that Chernin recently got from a Qatar company.

    Base79 partners with video rights holders and producers to build online audiences and brands, claim and protect their intellectual property, sell premium advertising, and generate new revenue streams on YouTube and other OTT platforms.

    Base79, which claims to be the largest YouTube network in the Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) region, said proceeds from the round will be used to accelerate Base79’s expansion across Europe and into other global territories, to build owned-and-operated brands and channels, and to invest in the company’s products and technology.

    The company’s proprietary technology and processes for increasing YouTube channel subscribers and views, and establishing ad sales leadership, enables its clients to significantly increase their reach and revenues in online video.

    With more than 300 premium content partners, including BBC Worldwide, Endemol’s Tiger Aspect, IMG Media, Simon Cowell’s SyCo, Ministry of Sound, Guinness World Records as well as a number of leading YouTube content creators, Base79 generates more than 550 million views per month across nearly 550 channels on YouTube, and is the largest
    YouTube multi-channel network based in the UK. Base79 recently received four original programming grants from YouTube, more than any other company in Europe.

    Founded in 2007, the company has offices in London, New York and Sydney, and has plans to increase its presence in continental Europe within the next 12 months.

    Base79 founder, CEO Ashley MacKenzie said, “We’re thrilled to receive this additional investment and recognition for our business from The Chernin Group, in addition to ongoing support from MMC Ventures. TCG’s industry leading expertise and track record in content, digital media, brand building, international expansion and monetisation will be
    invaluable as we accelerate the Company’s international growth and distribution of premium video content across multiple platforms and devices. We have experienced extraordinary growth and believe this partnership will allow a new chapter of even greater opportunity.”

    TCG founder, CEO Peter Chernin said, “Base79 has established itself as one of the clear leaders in online video, an exciting space that we believe is positioned to grow faster than any other area of media. Base79 is one of Europe’s fastest-growing young media companies, and we look forward to partnering with the company and its management team to help build on its vision and capitalise on further opportunities
    for growth.”

    YouTube global head of entertainment Alex Carloss said, "We view The Chernin Group‘s investment in a key partner like Base79 as a sign of the growth of the YouTube ecosystem in Europe. Base79‘s deep expertise in rights management and the YouTube platform will continue to help partners control and grow their content businesses on YouTube."

    MMC Ventures managing partner Bruce Macfarlane said, “MMC Ventures has always believed in Base79 – its concept, technology, and team – and have been excited to invest from an early stage. We are therefore delighted to be continuing our support for Base79, alongside The Chernin Group, and look forward to its further growth and success.”

    In October 2012, after securing four new channel partnerships as a part of YouTube’s new original channels initiative, Base79 announced that it had become Europe’s largest YouTube original programming partner. The four new channels resulting from the partnership are:
    • /Football
    With leading sports media company IMG as a key content producer, Slash
    Football is a premium video football network centered and driven by
    football fans. Base79 will create a series of programs that focus on
    and appeal to football fans, providing real, reactive and opinionated
    views and discussions.
    • /Flow
    Flow is a celebration of movement sports, in particular parkour. It
    brings together compelling new content from the world’s best urban
    movement athletes, powered by Base79‘s parkour hub of more than 60
    athletes and free-running content creators. Flow is a brand and
    platform to inspire and encourage young people to be active and
    adventurous.
    • Guinness World Records: OMG!, from Base79 and Guinness World Records
    “Guinness World Records: OMG!” is a new YouTube channel highlighting
    YouTube stars who challenge and encounter record-breaking people and
    places. The channel features 100% new and original material from the
    legendary arbiter of all things record-setting and record-breaking.
    • Bad Teeth, from Base79 and Hat Trick Productions

    Bringing sketches, animation, and celebrity guest-hosted pranks together for a thoroughly entertaining experience, Bad Teeth blends the funniest and most popular YouTube stars with mainstream celebrities from the Hat Trick stable to create unexpected, water-cooler content people will want to share.

  • Star operating profit down 36% in Dec 06 quarter

    Star operating profit down 36% in Dec 06 quarter

    MUMBAI: In the first contraction in profit that Star has had since it began generating profits in early 2003, News Corp’s Asian arm has reported second quarter operating income down 36 per cent from the same period a year ago.

    Though the quarter (up to 31 December 2006) saw growth in subscription revenues, it was more than offset by a decline in advertising revenue at Star Plus.
    On the distribution side, the biggest initiative by Star India during the quarter was the $ 175 million deal with Nimbus to distribute its channels.

    According to Hong Kong-based Media Partners Asia (MPA), operating profit or EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) was down 36 per cent year on year to under $ 30 million. Operating profit in the September 06 quarter was up 8 per cent YoY. MPA estimates for the first half of the year show operating profit down 28 per cent YoY to $41 million, MPA estimates.

    A point of note of course is that the corresponding period in 2005 not only had the second season of KBC on Star Plus but also saw the first season of Nach Baliye on Star One providing a strong push to advertising sales revenues. Still, there is no getting away from the fact that softness in ratings at Star plus is also contributing to revenue declines.

    Speaking about Star’s performance during a conference call with analysts after the announcement of News Corp’s results, president & COO Peter Chernin said: “When the third season (of KBC) did finally launch and the numbers were extremely strong, up more than 25 per cent over last year’s premier, which should give us great momentum for the second half of the year and lead to not only higher advertising results but higher ancillary revenues led by phone revenue from additional calls that come in with the show.”

    Chernin also made a mention of the executive roiling that has been going on at Star when he said, “You’ve also read that we made some changes to senior management, changes which we think will strengthen our operations and improve our programming going forward.

    “… I think we have aggressive expectations for Star. Beginning on India, we’d like to see continued growth in our channels. We expect the growth of Tata Sky (in which News Corp holds 20 per cent) to continue. I think the most significant impact digital (DTH, CAS) will have on the company is growth of revenues inside Star as we see additional subscribers and an ability to, you know, get higher declarations of subs from the cable/pay-TV operators. We’ll also see new channel launches there (Tata Sky), and also important new ancillary businesses in the Internet, production and movies, et cetera. So we’re optimistic about Star going forward in India. “

    News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch was equally gung ho about the expectations on the DTH front: “Tata Sky DTH in India at 500,000+ subscribers, will hit 1 million during 1H 07, adding 8,000 subs per day at peak levels, averaging about 5-6,000 per day. I’d just say that Tata Sky is [going] a lot faster than we had budgeted for.”

    Commenting on the expectations from the rest of Asia, Chernin said, “Additionally, we’re also ambitious in other Asian countries, particularly Indonesia, where we’ve recently launched. We recently acquired a television network which we’re optimistic. A very big country. We’re hoping that could be the next India… and also just continuing growth in other territories, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and expanding into others.”

    On the China side, Murdoch was almost diffident when he said: “We don’t do very well in China. We have an interest — we just sold half of it in Phoenix (China Mobile deal, $165 million sale). We’ve got more than our money back [in our] total investment and we’re still there. We brought in a new partner China Mobile [inaudible] relations and we think it will do nicely. And we have our own little channel, XK [Xing Kong], which is produced in Shanghai and distributed through the southeast. That’s pretty much a break-even operation.

    “We are very [inaudible] all I would say there is that nobody and I challenge anyone to argue this, none of the leading American companies or British media companies have made any impact there yet. It’s possible that, I mean there MySpace finds room there… It may be a MySpace China, which we can license, but we’re just feeling our way there. It’s a vast market, but it’s certainly a very, very sensitive one and as we’ve seen what’s happened to Google there, what’s happened to eBay there, even to Yahoo. It is a very difficult market for outsiders.”