STAR TV CHAIRMAN TO JET INTO INDIA THIS MONTH

Even as Star TV Asia CEO Gary Davey is slated to leave the company for a consulting position and be based in Australia by end-November, its Chinese-born American executive chairman Gareth Chang is slated to visit India sometime during the middle of this month. Chang is coming here to discuss major proposals, including a formal decision on the ambitious direct-to-home (DTH) venture, a proposed separation of distribution and marketing (D&M) activities from Star TV India's operations and a tie-up with an Indian corporate house. But before that Star TV deputy chief executive - who has been promoted as chief operating officer - Bruce Churchill is expected in India this week to discuss strategies for a new look and structure Star TV in India.

According to Hong Kong-based sources in Star TV, Chang is likely to convey the management's decision to Indian executives on the DTH venture. Most likely it will be a formal curtains down on the DTH division in India as Star TV does not expect to make much progress in this segment in the near future, though the Indian government had been making encouraging noises in this regard till the elections.

"Senior executives of Star TV India, based in Delhi, including executive director (DTH), Urmila Gupta, and distribution head Arun Mohan have been asked to be available in Mumbai middle of this month in connection with Chang's scheduled visit," a Star source in Mumbai said.

According to sources in Hong Kong, Chang is also likely to discuss and gauge the mood in India regarding a proposal to hive off the D&M activities from Star TV India's portfolio. The proposal envisages making a third party, not directly connected to Star TV, responsible for the D&M activities. "It may also involve forming joint venture for the D&M activities," sources explained.

One of the names that has been short-listed by Star TV for D&M is that of P.K. Mittal's Ispat Industries which may float an off-shore company, probably in Mauritius for this activity. The name of ESPN-Star Sports, the joint venture company, responsible for D&M activities of ESPN and Star Sports is also being considered.

Some months back, when R.K. Singh (now with Zee Telefilms Ltd as chief executive) was the managing director in India of ESPN-Star Sports, the company was almost given the mandate to run the D&M of Star TV channels in India. This move was confirmed by a senior executive of ESPN-Star Sports recently who said, "The proposal was dropped then as there was much resistance to it from Star TV India."