News Broadcasting
Star News gets week’s uplink extension
NEW DELHI: The Indian government today gave permission to Media Content & Communication India Pvt Ltd, in which Star holds 26 per cent equity stake, to continue uplinking news content for Star News on a temporary basis for another week starting 26 June.
Even as this breather came through, Star India now seems to be more amiable to bring down the prices of Star channels from the existing Rs 50 to make them more affordable to consumers in a post conditional access regime.
Pointing out that Media Content & Communications India Pvt Ltd (where 74 per cent shareholding is with Indians as per the new uplinking policy for news channels) has been given a week’s temporary okay for uplinking, additional secretary (broadcasting) in the information and broadcasting ministry Vijay Singh said, “We do give temporary uplinking permission on a case by case basis. They came with a fresh application for temporary uplinking and it was granted to them.”
Speaking to journalists after a meeting today, lasting over an hour, with Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, Singh said that the government expects to complete the formalities regarding an application of MCCIPL filed last week soon.
“We are awaiting feedback from the home ministry and department of space after which the I&B ministry will take a stand on the application (of MCCIPL to uplink from India news content for Star News),” Singh explained, adding that today’s meeting had been sought by Star India.
Asked specifically by indiantelevision.com whether the government can complete all the formalities within a week’s time and whether further extensions needed to be given, Singh said, “I don’t see any reasons why it cannot be done.”
Incidentally, the same ministry last week was grumbling that MCCIPL’s application had come too late and too near the 90-day deadline given to the likes of Star News taking all permissions within the 90-day period. Hinting in a way that Star News would have to go off air from 26 June or cannot beam live events from India.
Though Singh did not get into the specifics whether a paid up capital of Rs 100,000 was too low or not, he did admit that the details and clarifications sought from MCCIPL have been furnished.
Asked about a court case that has been filed in the Gwalior high court against a conditional letter given to Space TV, a Star affiliate, for KU-band DTH television service wherein the court has severely criticized the government stand, Singh said, “We did discuss the DTH case, but I cannot discuss the details.”
At the end of the meeting, a smiling Mukerjea joked with indiantelevision.com that Star News may go off the air from midnight or tomorrow. On the serious side, he said, “The government has been very appreciative of our stand.”
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
