Uday Shankar to Join STAR India as COO

MUMBAI/ HONG KONG, April 23: Uday Shankar,
currently the CEO of Media Content & Communications Services (MCCS), has
been appointed COO of STAR India, reporting to Paul Aiello, the CEO of STAR
India.

The announcement comes four months since the surprise resignations of
long-time STAR India staffers Peter Mukerjea and Sameer Nair.

In his new role, Shankar will oversee the company’s overall operations.
He joins STAR from MCCS, a 74-26 joint venture between Ananda Bazar Patrika
Group (ABP) and STAR Group. The joint venture operates the popular Hindi news
channel STAR News and the top-rated Bengali news channel STAR Ananda and is
also working on the launch of a third channel in Marathi. Prior to
joining MCCS, Shankar was the editor and news director at India Today,
launching the channels Aaj Tak and Headlines Today. Before that, he launched
the news division of Sahara TV.

Announcing the appointment, Aiello said, “Uday is a highly respected and
accomplished television executive with a myriad of experience under his belt.
Since joining our news joint venture MCCS, he has overseen the tremendous
growth of STAR News and the launch of STAR Ananda, changing the dynamics of
competition within the news space. Uday’s in-depth industry knowledge, seasoned
business acumen and his established relationship with STAR make him the perfect
fit for this post. As STAR India continues to expand its services across the
country, we will look to Uday to build momentum for even further growth and
development.”