GECs
Star TV: looking for a Dot Com CEO
Star TV India is on the prowl for a dot com chief. The company is scouting around for an individual who will steer its forway in to the Wide World of the Web and e-shopping and communities. It is beleived to be in conversation with several senior executives and placement agencies have been roped in to lasso the right candidate for the job.
The company already has a portal startv.com. It plans to create many more portals and has set up a subsidiary for the Internet business, which will also offer Internet access. It is looking for partners in New Delhi to provide broadband Internet access through cable networks.
The company plans to get into the broadband area and offer webcasting services.Star TV CEO Peter Mukerjea does not want to miss the bus which the arch rival Zee Telefilms has already boarded. Zee Telefilms has a clear advantage with its own cable network SitiCable. It is already conducting pilot projects in Bangalore and Mumbai for Internet over cable.
Star expects to also form a community of Internet portals which it will likely offer along with access. The company is also looking at forging alliances with existing portals by taking equity positions in dot com startupps.
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.
