GECs
Star and Disney head Sanjay Gupta to join Google as new Country Manager
MUMBAI: Sanjay Gupta, who steered Star and Disney India growth by expanding its digital footprint and acquisition of broadcasting rights for critical sporting events, has stepped down and is expected to join Google India as its country manager and vice president of sales and operations.
Gupta, as MD of Star and Disney India, took bold decisions and made Star into one of the country’s largest media company. He was instrumental in expanding Star footprint on digital platform.
Launched in 2015, Hotstar, Star’s OTT platform, is far ahead than its competitors with over 300 million monthly active users, as per the latest available data, more than double the Netflix’s 150 million global users.
Gupta, who has joined Star in April 2009 as COO, also built Star’s sports broadcasting business with acquisting of broadcast rights for major sporting events like IPL, Pro-Kabaddi League and football league, Indian Super League.
In September 2017, Star India trumped Facebook, Reliance Jio, Sony and Bharti Airtel, and won broadcast rights for IPL for whopping Rs 16,347.50 crore for the next five years. That bet has largely paid off. This IPL season, Hotstar topped the 10 million concurrent viewership mark a number of times and in May this year, Hotstar set a new world record when 18.6 million users simultaneously tuned into Hotstar’s website and app to watch the final IPL game.
Under his stewardship, Star also expanded its footprint in regional content. In June 2017, Star India launched India’s first ever regional language sports channel in Tamil. In 2018, Star broadcasted IPL in 6 languages, including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bangla. In July 2019, Star launched its Marathi sports channel. Star also operates an array of regional channels like Star Jalsha, Star Vijay, Star Pravah, Asianet, Star Maa TV, Star Suvarna.
Gupta, who has nearly three decade expirence, is expected to join Google where he succeeds Rajan Anandan, who left Google eight-months-ago to join Sequoia Capital India as its managing director.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
