News Broadcasting
Star News uplinking gets govt. nod
NEW DELHI: Finally the green signal is there.
Star News has been given the government nod to uplink from India after all the official permissions were being obtained.
According to information and broadcasting ministry officials, the process seems to be over as the Star News matter got the final okay for uplinking from India.
The Star News issue had been hanging fire as the permissions needed from various government organisations had not been completed.
“All the clearances that were needed by Star News are now complete,” a senior I&B ministry official told Indiantelevision.com today.
With this Media Content & Communications India Pvt. Ltd. (MCCS), a joint venture between the Kolkata based Anand Bazaar Patrika (ABP) Group and Star, is now fully equipped to uplink the Star News channel from India.
The case of MCCS had whipped up a controversy with the domestic media companies accusing Star of flouting government rules and having direct control over the news channel.
Amidst controversy, Star News had been uplinking from India on temporary permission from the Indian government.
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
