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Tag: Star India

  • Star India’s Sanjay Gupta: The King maker who is now King

    Star India’s Sanjay Gupta: The King maker who is now King

    MUMBAI: For years, the spotlight has been on former journalist-turned-media executive Uday Shankar at Star India (now Disney Star India). Reams of copy have been written about how Uday has supercharged the formerly Rupert Murdoch-now-Disney owned media organisation with his dash of entrepreneurship. However, much less has been written about his maanging director Sanjay Gupta who has been relatively in the shadows.

    Yes, he has addressed public gatherings such as Ficci Frames, and has represented Star India in forums, but on most occasions, Uday’s larger than life personality has overshadowed Sanjay’s.

    Enough conversations had happened between keen Star India observers on whether something would give in the top management of the company now that Disney was the owner and processes very different from what executives had been used to were being put in place. So when news broke that Sanjay had put in his papers and was joining Google India as country manager and VP, sales and operations – stepping in the big shoes of Rajan Anandan – for most it was surprising and not a rude shock.

    Ten years at the top in an organisation is a long time, and Sanjay rightfully earned his stripes. A former Hindustan Lever and Bharti Airtel professional he brought in a sharp rigour as far as  brand and consumer focus is concerned into a media company. He helped in the transformation of Star India from being just a broadcaster to one which thought consumer – in almost every situation. Similar to what Pradeep Guha did at the The Times of India in the eighties and nineties. 

    Sanjay also showed he has the ability to take an idea, make it a reality and scale it up into a money making machine. He proved the perfect foil to Uday who thought big, bigger than any one in the India media firmament had hitherto done. Uday could do so because Rupert and James had the utmost confidence in him and backed him at every stage.

    No one knows this about Sanjay more than Uday. In an email to the Star India team on his deputy’s announcement to leave the organisation, Uday has labeled him “his friend and partner” saying he helped him build Star India for over a decade.

    He further confesses in the email:  “I have never had to share the news of a departure that would have so much impact on our lives. Sanjay has been the person who has taken charge of my craziest ideas and audacious ambitions of this company and has made them real and successful…every time. He leaves a void in my life that would be impossible to fill.…”

    Theories are manifold why Sanjay chose to part ways. Among them: there is not enough room at the top for two fabulous executives in the new Disney-Star India structure. Yes Uday has a larger remit of all of Asia. And Sanjay was in charge of the India operations. However, India is too close to Uday’s heart, hence it was difficult for him to let Sanjay run the ship independently.

    Both Uday and Sanjay will rubbish this as sheer balderdash. Which it probably is.

    More likely is the conjecture that Sanjay got an opportunity that he could not let go. Leading the Indian operations of one of the world’s largest media and technology companies is something that is extremely appealing to a professional. And that too at Google India – which is part of Alphabet. Google India is a leader in the digital space accounting more than a billion dollars in revenue in the country and its operations encompass almost every part of Indians’ lives. The company has been helping – and has further  plans to help –  in the digitisation of India in every way possible which immediately expands the kind of exciting opportunities and challenges that Sanjay will have to deal with. And being a consumer focused executive who honed his skills at Hindustan Lever, the Google assignment got him smacking his chops.

    If one goes by the praise that Uday has heaped upon Sanjay, then he appears to be perfect for the job. Says he in the email: “…there is no one quite gifted as Sanjay in the entire Indian M&E sector. Based on my experience, I can say that there are few like him in the Indian corporate sector as a whole.”

    For Star India, however, Uday says it is time to step up because  “the great company that Sanjay built must continue to scale greater heights."

    One will have to wait and watch whether Uday will continue to pilot  Star India along with his Asian responsibilities or whether he will bring in another executive to replace Sanjay from outside or promote from within. Whatever direction it takes, Sanjay’s act will be a challenging one to follow.

  • How Dangal TV is ruling the heartland

    How Dangal TV is ruling the heartland

    MUMBAI: Nearly a decade after it was launched, Dangal TV has emerged as one of the most-watched channels in India across genres, thanks to a well-thought-out strategy of curating selective old shows and producing originals on Indian history and mythology, apart from the usual soap-operas.

    The Hindi GEC Channel Dangal TV, part of Enterr10 TV Network, has consistently topped the weekly list across genres of channels in 2019 (Source: BARC) and is a delight for media agencies and advertisers the media plan.

    Dangal has emerged as an undisputed leader in the rural Hindi-speaking market (HSM), while maintaining a decent hold in urban areas as well.

    Joy Chakraborthy, CEO, Enterr10tv, says, "It’s not just by luck that we have consistently topped the list of most popular channel in India."

    To what extent has the FTA model helped Dangal?

    Dangal was launched as a free-to-air (FTA) channel in 2009. However, since TRAI’s 2019 new tariff order (NTO) that mandates that customers select the channels and bouquets they want to subscribe and broadcasters announce the MRP of the same, Dangal has emerged as the undisputed leader in all genres of channels.

    KPMG India partner and head, media and entertainment Girish Menon says: “The top FTA GEC channels, especially on the DD Freedish platform, have commanded a high viewership share post the NTO regime, especially in the rural markets. The primary reason for the same has been the flanking channels of the top 4 broadcasters turning pay after the transition to the NTO regime, and the removal of these channels from the DD Freedish platform; which in itself has access to 30 million HHs.”

    Industry experts say that Dangal has an edge over its competitors as it is an FTA channel, a great advantage in a price sensitive market like India. Interestingly, Dangal is often the only FTA channel in the weekly BARC list of Top 10 channels by viewership. 

    Chakraborthy, however, is dismissive of those who credit Dangal’s success solely to its FTA strategy.

    “Look, after the NTO order, every media network had the option to remain in FTA space or to become paid channel. If FTA is our only mantra for success, tell me why Dangal is often the only FTA channel in the list of top 10 channels. Dangal is not the No.1 free channel. It’s the top channel across genres,” quips Chakraborthy, showing us the viewership chart for Dangal TV in 2019.

    Chakraborthy, who joined Enterr10 TV Network in March and has over 25 years of experience in M&E industry, working with Times Group, Star India, Zee, Network18 and TV Today Network, is also clear that he wants Dangal to remain free of cost: “I have no intention to convert Dangal to a paid channel. We will remain FTA channel.”

    How is Dangal making money without subscription revenue?

    Chakraborthy, who calls himself an all-in-all revenue guy, says advertising is its only source of revenue. “ROI is at the heart of all our operations. Before we commission a new show or syndicate one, we do a detailed research and check on advertising potential.”

    He points out that while advertisers have multiple options to reach consumers in metro cities, like, TV, print, OTT, etc…Dangal provides companies access to millions of consumers in the Hindi heartland where these other mediums are comparatively weak or not cost effective. It is this market where Dangal TV simply cannot be ignored and this brings advertisers.

    But, has not ad revenue declined with the GDP falling to a six-year low of 5% in August 2019?

    Chakraborthy says that while ad revenue in some mediums may have shown a decline, TV has remained mostly unaffected. On GECs, FMCG goods are the primary source of revenue and their demand has not dampened despite slowing economy. “FMCG advertisers are our bread and butter and they are doing well and pumping in monies on television. Up to 80 per cent of our ad revenue is coming from FMCG firms. Dangal’s objective is to get all potential advertisers on board without compromising in rates and values.”

    The strategy behind mythological/historical fiction shows

    Industry experts believe Dangal is successful as it has carved out a niche space for itself in the crowded Indian broadcast market. The channel has been able to maintain its distinct identity by carefully curating old shows and producing originals in the genre of Indian history, spirituality and mythology; Mahima Shanidev Ki, Ramayan, Dwarkadheesh Bhagwaan Shree Krishna, Sikandar vs porus, Chandragupta Maurya, Veer Shivaji, to name just a few.

    Dangal TV is clear about its identity and upfront about its strategy. Its website clearly defines its endeavour as an attempt to meet the “demand(s) of entertainment and information to make audience feel connected to our (Indian) ancient history and mythology.”

    The key to success for the top FTA GECs is to focus on fresh programming, with a judicious mix of shows across genres such as daily soaps, mythological and socially relevant programming, Menon says.

    That Dangal’s success is in large part owing to the unique programming line-up of mythological entertainment shows is clear from the fact that in week 19 of 2019, when Dangal TV topped the list for most popular channel across genres, its most popular show was Mahima Shanidev Ki, followed by Ramayana.

    Dangal’s brilliance lies in the fact that it was the first to realise and move in the space for a Hindi entertainment channel, focusing primarily on shows about Indian history and mythology, apart from the usual run-of-the-mill crime thriller, horror shows and family dramas.

    This space was consistently ignored by programming heads for nearly three decades despite the success of shows like Ramayana and Mahabaratha in the late eighties.

    Chakraborthy agrees: “Mythological shows are sure-shot winners. Metro cities are often oblivious to the fact that India is a deeply religious country. In addition, mythological shows can be watched with families. TV watching in India is still a family experience and parents would rather have their children watch Ramayana than Narcos or Breaking Bad.”

    Strategy behind acquiring old shows

    Dangal ratings, undoubtedly, have also been helped by successfully monetising already aired shows. Shows like Chandragupta Maurya, Bhagwaan Shree Krishna ran on Imagine TV before the channel shut abruptly in April 2012 and already aired titles like Bandini, Ramayana, Mahima Shanidev Ki, have done exceptionally well on Dangal.

    “We go through a lot of historical data before acquiring the license for any show. There are many reasons behind the success of any show. We look at shows that did not do well and analyse why it happened. Perhaps, it was a good show on a bad distribution landscape, or had too tough a competitor, or was probably on the wrong channel. We analyse such shows, acquire them at a fraction of cost, and then re-telecast them at a strategic time-slot to maximise ROI. Results are for all to see.”

    While Chakraborthy is honest in giving credit to these old shows for Dangal success, he is also quick to point out that Dangal is not just airing old shows.

    “At Dangal, I see my greatest challenge to bust the perception that we are only airing old shows. We produced Nagin, which is doing exceptionally well, Darr ki Dastak, a horror show and ‘CIF’, a crime investigation show. We have also commissioned other shows which are ready for telecast, but our current shows are doing so well that we have no time slot left for running these new shows,” Chakraborthy clarifies.

    Going forward

    Chakraborthy has a clear road map for Dangal’s future growth. While there is a rush in TV channels to tie-up with OTT platforms, Dangal’s first priority is to consolidate, maintain and further strengthen its leadership position on television which directly helps in monetisation through advertising.

    “The OTT and web plans are part of the strategy and will be shared in due course.”

    Enterr10 network is fortunate to have a visionary promoter in Manish Singhal, who has identified the right mix of people.

    In the last few months, the network has recruited Priyanka Datta as business head, Amartya Ray as head – revenue planning, sales strategy, research and operations, and Neeta Thakre.

    The Hindi GEC is a Rs 9000 crore market. If Dangal can maintain its dominant hold in this segment, like it has done so far in 2019, then surely, it will have the biggest pie of this crucial market.  

  • Disney and Star India take part inthe largest meal packing activity for rise against hunger india by packing 700,000 meals

    Disney and Star India take part inthe largest meal packing activity for rise against hunger india by packing 700,000 meals

    MUMBAI: Thousands of Disney VoluntEARS in India came together to celebrate Disney VoluntEARS Week (September 16-20) and packed over 700,000 meals for local communities across six cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Trivandrum. This is the largest meal packing activity for Rise Against Hunger India.

    This year, over 4000 employees from Disney and Star India came together to give forward and became heroes in their local communities. They dedicated one hour each towards packing meals that comprised of dry uncooked rice, dal, dehydrated vegetables and a micronutrient blend of 23 essential vitamins and minerals. In addition to packing meals, Disney VoluntEARS coloured Mickey themed greeting cards for children in hospitals.

    “We are proud to collaborate with Rise Against Hunger India on this milestone achievement. We are thrilled to see such high levelenthusiasm amongst our employees to come together and pack over 700,000 meals this year,” said Sanjay Gupta, Country Manager, Star and Disney India. “It is our pleasure tojoin hands with the NGO in their movement to distribute food and life-changing aid to the local underprivileged community,” he added.

    “Rise Against Hunger India is honored to have Disney as one of its biggest supporters and donors, helping our movement towards a hunger-free India. The current engagement is by far our biggest single-donor and multi-location event.  Disney VoluntEARS have always displayed tremendous spirit of volunteerism, compassion and concern for others.  With such committed and compassionate hunger warriors, we are sure the goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 will be achieved without a doubt,” said Dola Mohapatra, Executive Director, Rise Against Hunger India.

    Disney in India has had a long-standing relationship with Rise Against Hunger India partnering with them in 2016 and 2018. 

    The Disney VoluntEARS program started in India since the official launch of the brand in 2004. Last year, 465 Disney VoluntEARS supported various charitable events, and contributed over 1000 hours across India. 

  • Nitin Bawankule to join as Star India head of ad sales from 1 October

    Nitin Bawankule to join as Star India head of ad sales from 1 October

    MUMBAI: Star India, today announced the appointment of Nitin Bawankule as the head of ad sales. In this role, Bawankule will be responsible for leading ad sales across both linear broadcast and OTT for Star TV network and Hotstar respectively. This appointment is effective 1 October 2019 and will report to Star and Disney India country manager Sanjay Gupta.

    “The media and entertainment industry is poised for rapid growth and our viewership continues to reach newer heights. With Nitin’s proficiency in growing teams and scaling businesses, his prowess in building long-term partnerships, and his mastery of the consumer internet space, I am confident that he will play a pivotal role in shaping and driving our ambitious growth strategy in the years to come,” said Sanjay Gupta.

    “Star is a great brand and has played a lead role in transforming the media and entertainment industry in India. It’s truly an honour to be a part of such an exceptional organization and I look forward to all the great things we will accomplish together,” said Nitin Bawankule.

    Bawankule has over two decades of experience in global sales, building large businesses and expanding into new markets. His expertise includes scaling sales organisations, establishing strategic partnerships and helping build long-lasting relationships with some of the biggest global internet and consumer brands.

    Prior to joining Star, Bawankule worked with Google for over eight years. In his last role, as the Country Director for Google Cloud India, he spearheaded the exponential growth of Cloud adoption in the country. In addition, Bawankule has led the Google Ads business as Industry Director. Prior to joining Google, Bawankule worked with Dell as a Director, where he handled multiple sales and business roles.

    Bawankule holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing and Finance from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology.

  • Star India appoints Nitin Bawankule as head of ad sales

    Star India appoints Nitin Bawankule as head of ad sales

    MUMBAI: Google country director – India Nitin Bawankule will be joining Star India as head of ad sales from October. Bawankule has around 25 years of experience combining digital, IT, telecom and consumer electronic space.

    A source has confirmed the appointment of Bawankule in Star India to Indiantelevision.com. Prior to his role as country director – India, he was the industry director leading the E-commerce (online retail) and online classifieds (local, real estate, jobs and matrimonial), technology, education and government verticals at Google India.

    Earlier, he has been the director in Dell for Asia Pacific Japan region managing software and peripherals portfolio. His earlier roles include regional sales manager at Motorola and sales manager at Whirlpool and Godrej-GE Appliances.

    He has done Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Bangalore and has a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) in Electronics from VNIT Nagpur.

  • ALTBalaji COO Sunil Nair steps down

    ALTBalaji COO Sunil Nair steps down

    MUMBAI: ALTBalaji chief operating officer (COO) Sunil Nair has stepped down from his current position. However, he will be serving the Ekta Kapoor-led OTT platform till 30 September.

    After nearly 4 years of association with ALTBalaji, he has resigned from his role as the COO to pursue new adventures.  

    He joined the organisation in June 2015, even before the service was launched successfully on 16 April 2017. He was responsible for building India's first pure-play original video content platform. He also worked with brands like Reliance Jio, Star India.

    Notably, Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sunil Lulla also quit last month. A few days after his resignation, Lulla announced his in-residence consulting service, The Linus Adventures.

  • TDSAT directs Meghbala to pay Rs 1.6 cr to Star India within 1 week

    TDSAT directs Meghbala to pay Rs 1.6 cr to Star India within 1 week

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed Meghbala Cable And Broadband Services Pvt Ltd, in an order dated on 2 September, to pay Rs 1.5 crore to Star India within one week. The cable service provider has been instructed to pay the balance amount of the total outstanding due within a period for further two weeks.

    Star India issued a notice to Meghbala Cable on 13 August disclosing that the latter is required to clear the outstanding dues upto invoiced amount for June aggregating to Rs 2,62,97,810. According to the notice, the cable service provider was supposed to pay the required amount on 3 September.

    Learned counsel for Meghbala Cable has submitted that it has reduced the outstanding dues over a period of three months and hence some more accommodation will enable them to liquidate the entire arrears so that it may start paying the current invoiced amounts in accordance with the agreement and the industrial practice.

    “Evidently, the petitioner (Meghbala Cable ) will be liable to pay the invoiced amount even for subsequent months like July and August, 2019 very soon. Therefore, only a limited accommodation can be granted to the petitioner to clear the outstanding dues covered by the notice. For that purpose, we direct that respondent (Star India) shall not give effect to the impugned notice until further orders if the petitioner pays amount of Rs 1.5 crore within one week from today and the balance amount within a period for further two weeks. We trust that petitioner shall make efforts to pay the future invoiced amount within stipulated time,” TDSAT said in an order on 2 September.

  • Star India distributes eco-friendly flags on account of India’s 73rd Independence Day!

    Star India distributes eco-friendly flags on account of India’s 73rd Independence Day!

    In an encouraging and positive endeavour towards a greener India, Star India has distributed eco-friendly National flags which have been sourced from 21Fools. With a novelty in thought, these flags are made out of waste cotton and are embedded with marigold seeds. As it is known how every year on 15th August, when the nation celebrates Independence day, millions of little Indian flags are bought and sold for the purpose of symbolism and promoting national sentiment, and once used are discarded disrespectfully and hence end up becoming an environmental hazard. But these eco-friendly flags, after their use can be respectfully placed in soil and can turn into healthy saplings, contributing towards a healthy and greener India

    The above initiative is directly inspired by Shubhendu Sharma, an Industrial engineer and Eco-entrepreneur, who after speaking on the stage of TED Talks India Nayi Soch  (aired on Star Plus in Dec 2017) about his campaign ‘Tiny Forests’, aimed at planting trees and creating mini forests, gained such traction that he went around the world planting trees and has been doing notable work in his field.

    Star India came up with this idea, thereby extending its support towards the promotion of planting trees which is a major requisite for human beings in today’s times.

    Needless to say it’s a brilliant initiative and as more and more citizens are getting wary of this, we are sure of having an eco-friendly celebration of Independence Day!

    “Harey Rang se jab khil uthega gulistan humara, tabhi to hogi Nayi Baat!’

    TedTalk will air soon on Star Plus !

  • Star India rev growth offset by incremental rights expense, weakness in ad rev: Disney management

    Star India rev growth offset by incremental rights expense, weakness in ad rev: Disney management

    MUMBAI: The purchase of 21st Century Fox, which was aimed at helping Walt Disney Company's future plans, is causing initial pain to the Bob Iger-led media conglomerate. In its fiscal third quarter result for 2019, Disney missed earnings expectations partly because of the worse-than-expected performance of Fox assets. Star India, the newly acquired premium property of Disney after the completion of the merger, was not able to live up to expectations.

    “We estimate Star generated about $150 million of operating income in the third quarter last year. Star's results this quarter came in well below our expectations and were driven primarily by a meaningful step-up in rights cost for the quadrennial Cricket World Cup and the Indian Premier League as revenue growth was more than offset by the incremental rights expense,” Disney Senior EVP and CFO Christine McCarthy said.

    Despite the initial challenges, Disney CEO Bob Iger highlighted the benefits of the deal such as the addition of Star and Hotstar to the Disney portfolio giving a significant presence in India. He added that it is a huge market with interesting dynamics notably, a rapidly rising middle class with a strong and growing appetite for media, especially sports. He also noted that Hotstar’s broad array of premium sports rights will serve it well over the next five years especially as it expands the service into markets across Southeast Asia.

    “It was the quadrennial Cricket World Cup, of course. They have their Indian Premier League, which is ongoing, but this is once every four years for the World Cup. There were a couple of significant games that were rained out. They have insurance coverage for some of those, but any proceeds would be in future periods. And there was also some weakness in advertising revenue that was related to the local advertising market,” Iger commented on Star’s performance in India.

    Disney also continued to spend big on streaming services such as Disney+, ESPN+, the platforms where it sees its future. Moreover, the firm also took full operational control of streaming platform Hulu, which further affected the balance sheet.

    Disney’s earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter decreased 28 per cent to $1.35 from $1.87 in the prior-year quarter where it was expected $1.74 by the analysts. Total revenue stood at $20.2 billion against the consensus estimate for $21.4 billion.

  • Star India losses partially offset Disney’s international revenue

    Star India losses partially offset Disney’s international revenue

    MUMBAI: The giant media conglomerate Walt Disney Company could not reach Wall Street’s expectations for the quarter ended 29 June 2019. The company posted weaker than expected earnings per share and revenue in its Q3 results. Star India which now comes under Disney after the merger with 21st Century Fox affected the company’s revenue.

    Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter decreased 28 per cent to $1.35 from $1.87 in the prior-year quarter while the expectation was $1.74 by the analysts. Total revenue stood at $20.2 billion against the consensus estimate for $21.4 billion.

    "Our third-quarter results reflect our efforts to effectively integrate the 21st Century Fox assets to enhance and advance our strategic transformation,” Disney Chairman Bob Iger said. “We remain confident in our ability to successful execute our strategy,” he added.

    Cable Networks revenues for the quarter increased 24 per cent to $4.5 billion and operating income increased 15 per cent to $1.6 billion. The company said higher operating income was due to the consolidation of 21CF businesses (primarily the FX and National Geographic networks) and an increase at ESPN.

    "Results for the quarter also reflected a benefit from the inclusion of the 21CF businesses due to income at the Fox and National Geographic international channels, partially offset by a loss at Star India,” the company said in a release.

    Direct-to-consumer and international revenues for the quarter increased from $827 million to $3,858 million and segment operating loss increased from $168 million to $553 million. The increase in operating loss was due to the consolidation of Hulu, the ramp-up of investment in ESPN+, which was launched in April 2018 and costs associated with the upcoming launch of Disney+.

    Studio Entertainment revenues for the quarter saw a 33 per cent increase to $3.8 billion and segment operating income increased 13 per cent o $792 million. Parks, Experiences and Products revenues for the quarter increased 7 per cent to $6.6 billion and segment operating income increased 4 per cent to $1.7 billion.

    "The incredible popularity of Disney’s brands and franchises positions us well as we launch Disney+, and the addition of original and library content from Fox will only further strengthen our direct-to-consumer offerings,”  Iger said in the earnings release despite the bumpy quarter.