GECs
Sony’s Stringer on maiden India visit as SET turns 10
MUMBAI: After the Murdochs, Eisners and Igers of the world, it’s now time for Sony Corp’s first non-Japanese chairman and CEO Howard Stringer to come on a visit to India.
Stringer, who took charge in March this year, will be here on 20 October. One among the other reasons for his visit: to participate in the 10-year celebration party of Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India, which is going to be held in Mumbai on 22 October at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, Stringer will first be in Delhi, on 20 October. He is seeking to meet senior government functionaries including prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy. He is also likely to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra during his hectic stay here.
Stringer will reach Mumbai on 21 October, it is learnt. Apart from meetings with SET India executives, he will also have interaction with Sony Music and Sony Pictures Releasing of India Ltd (earlier Columbia TriStar Films of India), which is Sony Pictures Entertainment’s film distribution arm. He is also likely to meet executives from Sony Corp’s consumer electronics division.
Stringer will leave India on 23 October, sources say. He has been quoted in Forbes as saying, “In October, I’ll be on the road for three and a half weeks — in India, in China, twice in Tokyo.”
GECs
Sony ties up with EU for MasterChef India finale
GI-tagged European ingredients headline finale week
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has struck what it calls a landmark association with the European Union for the finale week of MasterChef India, marking the first such collaboration between the bloc and an Indian television format.
The tie-up will culminate in the “European Union mystery box challenge”, which opens the much-anticipated finale week. The task will see the top six contestant pairs cook with a curated basket of ingredients bearing geographical indications (GIs) from across EU member states: a nod to provenance as well as palate.
Chef Ajay and Chef Guntas, introduced as chef ambassadors to the European Union, will present the mystery boxes and set the brief: use the fewest ingredients from each category and produce a MasterChef-level dish that marries European produce with Indian flavour sensibilities. Precision and restraint, rather than extravagance, will be tested.
For Sony, the move signals a push towards high-value integrations that blur the line between sponsorship and storytelling. The network said the association underscores the show’s growing global stature and its ability to attract world-renowned institutions to Indian screens.
Chef Ajay Chopra, food ambassador in the European Union, described the collaboration as a strategic opportunity to spotlight the heritage and authenticity of GI-tagged European products to India’s vast food-loving audience.
Over the years, MasterChef India has positioned itself as a gateway to global cuisines. The EU partnership sharpens that pitch, turning the finale into a stage for cross-continental culinary diplomacy.
The finale week will air from 2 March, 2026 at 8 pm on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony Liv.
