News Broadcasting
In China, Star takes to the wireless
MUMBAI: We really believe in this market and to help expand the pie, all players should work together. A point made by Star Group CEO Michelle Guthrie in an address at the recently concluded Ficci Frames 2004.
Well, a clear route in that pie expansion exercise is via wireless. Though leveraging wireless is still to wing its way into Star India’s operations in any significant way, expect some major initiatives on that score from India’s lead broadcaster sooner rather than later.
According to Star Group senior V-P Mani Rao, Rupert Murdoch’s Asian broadcast arm has identified four clear revenue stream going forward – subscription, advertising, syndication and wireless.
In China in particular, utilising wireless has proved a strong incremental revenue stream as well as helped build stronger links to Star’s community of viewers, says Rao. The high cell phone penetration in China has been a big factor in its quick take-off no doubt.
Star Group V-P corporate affairs and publicity Jannie Poon outlined to indiantelevision.com how well wireless has worked for Star in China. It has been less than a year (June 2003) since launch, and what Star China is doing is to leverage the exclusive and popular content on its Mandarin language channels – general entertainment Xing Kong and Channel [V].
The wireless services are of two kinds – subscription and non-subscription based. And the numbers are impressive.
For the subscription based service, Star charges about $1 per month per subscriber. Currently there are about 200,000 monthly subscription-based members.
An example of how it works is the popular dating cum reality show Love Factory. Subscribers to Love Factory wireless services get love horoscopes, dating tips and dating games, among other things as download options. They also get to be part of Love Factory clubs in which members are hooked up through wireless.
An example of non-subscription based services was the Channel [V] Chinese Music Awards, wherein Star received more than 2 million SMS for voting of best songs, best female singer, etc of the year, says Poon.
The potential of wireless is huge, says Rao. How it rolls out on Star in India will of course be closely watched.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
