News Broadcasting
Star Group launches Star Ventures to manage JVs
MUMBAI: In a significant development, the Star Group today announced the formation of a new division called Star Ventures to manage and maximise the value of the company’s increasing portfolio of joint ventures.
Based in Hong Kong, Star Ventures will be headed by the group’s senior vice-president May Oh.
Star Ventures will oversee Star’s joint venture partnerships. Star’s key partnerships include ESPN Star Sports, Phoenix Satellite Television, Star News, Balaji Telefilms, Hathway Cable, China Network Systems and India DTH (Space TV).
ESPN Star Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between ESPN Inc. and Star, with 13 sports channels across Asia. On the other hand, Star owns a 37.6 per cent stake in Phoenix, a Hong Kong-listed Mandarin television platform, offering five channels to the global Chinese community.
In India, Star owns 26 per cent of Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS), which broadcasts Star News. Apart from that the media conglomerate also owns a 26 per cent stake in Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms, which produces fiction based television shows in Hindi, Telegu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.
Star has formed a 20:80 joint venture with the Tata Group to build the direct-to-home (DTH) digital television platform – Space TV, which is still waiting for clearance from the Indian information and broadcasting ministry. Star also owns a 26 per cent equity stake in India’s second largest multi-system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable.
In China, Star owns a 20 per cent equity stake in China Network Systems (Taiwan’s leading cable TV service provider), which is a joint venture between Star and the Koo’s Group.
Commenting on the new division, Star CEO Michelle Guthrie said, “In the past few years, Star’s network of partnerships has grown as we have expanded our business in Asia. These partnerships have contributed significantly to our overall development and I have no doubt Star Ventures will unlock more value to the mutual benefit of Star and our partners.”
Oh said, “Star’s strategic partnerships have enabled us to break new ground, increasing our reach and enhancing our content to consumers. I look forward to working even more closely with our partners to execute our joint vision and aligning our interests.”
Oh has been with Star for the last five years. Most recently, she was vice president of distribution, responsible for managing the distribution and marketing of Star’s channels in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and the Middle East.
Prior to that, she worked with China Network Systems where she oversaw the digitisation of the company’s cable systems in Taiwan. Prior to joining Star, Oh worked with FOXTEL, managing its business development and business analysis teams in Australia.
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.
