STAR Appoints Three New Programming VPs

HONG KONG, July 16: STAR
has named several new VPs of programming who will be responsible for
scheduling, acquisitions and content strategies for various channels.

Bonny Yu returns to STAR
as the VP of programming for Xing Kong, the company’s flagship
Mandarin-language general-entertainment channel for China. She previously
worked for STAR as a programming and scheduling manager from 1997 to 1999. Yu
most recently served as the VP of programming for Asia Pacific for the Disney
Channel.

Jennifer Batty has been
promoted to VP of programming for STAR World. She previously worked for
European broadcaster Viasat, where she was the pay-TV program director for
channel development and head of programming for factual pay TV.

Jyotsna Viriyala has been
named the VP of programming for STAR World India and STAR Movies India. Before
joining STAR, Viriyala worked at Media Content and Communications Services
India, where she was an assistant VP overseeing research, business strategies,
operations and on-air promotions.

Yu and Batty will be based
in Hong Kong and Viriyala in Mumbai. Batty will report to Todd Lituchy, the
president of entertainment, while Yu will report to Lituchy and Jack Gao, the
CEO of STAR China. Viriyala will report to Batty and Brian Lau, the VP of
programming for STAR Movies.

Lituchy
said: “As a company that has redefined television in Asia, STAR is always
striving to enhance the viewing experience for its audiences region wide.
Bonny, Jennifer and Jyotsna are three talented and experienced television
executives, each coming to us with a unique set of skills, knowledge and
expertise that will serve STAR well as we continue our ongoing push to innovate
and enhance our programming across the region.”

—By Jackie Stewart