Paley Dialogues: Breakfast

Uday Shankar, STAR India

May 30, 2014
8:30 – 9:30 AM
New York



STAR India has defined India's broadcast media for the last two decades and is today India's leading media and entertainment company. The STAR India network comprises 34 channels in seven languages received by over 650 million viewers every week across India and 100 other countries. Its channel portfolio includes Star Gold, Channel [V], Star Jalsha, Star Pravah, Star World, Star Movies, Star Utsav, Life OK, Movies OK and Star Plus, India's No. 1 General Entertainment Channel. STAR India has a leading presence in regional broadcasting as well through a bouquet of joint venture channels i.e., Asianet channels and Star Vijay. STAR's current portfolio stands at 14,000+ hours of entertainment and 5,000+ hours of live sports through a bouquet of 6 sports channels under the Star Sports brand. On Friday, May 30th, STAR India CEO Uday Shankar joined the Media Council for a PaleyDialogues breakfast and was introduced by James Murdoch, the Co-Chief Operating Officer of 21st Century Fox.

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Uday Shankar, Chief Executive Officer, STAR India
Uday Shankar is the CEO of Star India, one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India that operates 34 channels in seven languages, including its flagship Star Plus. The Star network enjoys market leadership in key geographies, demographics, and time slots, and today reaches more than 650 million viewers in India and across the globe every week. Uday has been at the helm since October 2007 and has guided the transformation of Star into a diversified media company leading the transformation of the entertainment business under Star, movies through Fox Studio, regional television through Asianet, and, most recently, in sports through the acquisition of the Indian cricket rights, later followed by NewsCorp’s (now 21CF) acquisition of its joint venture with ESPN. His tenure has been marked by persistent leadership in television through innovative programming and investments in leading technologies, both of which have set the benchmark for the industry. Uday is a pioneer of broadcasting in India, with a background rooted in journalism that mirrors the evolution of the industry. Prior to Star, he was the CEO and Editor of MCCS, which operated Star News. He was also the Editor and News Director at TV Today Group, where he spearheaded the launch of Aaj Tak in 2000 and Headlines Today in 2003. He started his career as a political journalist and went on to specialize in reporting on environmental issues. In addition to his leadership of Star, Uday is a leading voice of the media and broadcasting industry in the country, championing reforms for the industry and its consumers. As President of the Indian Broadcasting Forum (IBF) and as Chairperson of the FICCI Broadcast Committee, Uday has been at the forefront of landmark changes in self-regulation and ensuring access for consumers to digitized distribution. He holds an M.Phil in Economic History from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

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James Murdoch, Co-Chief Operating Officer, 21st Century Fox
As 21st Century Fox’s Co-Chief Operating Officer, James Murdoch works across the Company’s global portfolio of businesses. He has direct responsibility for 21st Century Fox’s global television business, comprising the Fox Networks Group in the United States and, internationally, the Company’s holdings in BSkyB, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and STAR India. Mr. Murdoch previously served as the Company’s Chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia. Prior to his posts at 21st Century Fox, he was BSkyB’s Chief Executive Officer from 2003 to 2007, and its Chairman from 2007 until 2012. During his tenure at BSkyB, the Company experienced transformative growth, amassing more than 10 million subscribers, and creating a full-service residential media and telecommunications company – a leader in all its markets. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Murdoch was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of STAR, 21st Century Fox’s Asian satellite television group. Under his leadership at STAR, the Company established itself as the premier content and broadcasting company in India, South Asia and Taiwan. He is a non-executive director of Yankee Global Enterprises, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Lampoon. He also serves as a board member for both 21st Century Fox and News Corp.

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Moderator: Bobby Ghosh, TIME International
Bobby Ghosh was named the editor of TIME International in March 2013. He oversees TIME’s international coverage for the domestic edition, TIME.com and TIME’s three international print editions serving Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; the South Pacific; and Asia. Ghosh has been with TIME since 1997, holding numerous positions including his most recent post as editor-at-large, reporting for TIME from around the world. He served as TIME’s Baghdad bureau chief from 2006-2011 and has reported extensively from Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Tunisia. Ghosh’s recent cover stories include an interview with Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi, several pieces on the Arab Spring and one on the rise of Islamophobia in America. In 2012, Ghosh profiled soccer stars Leo Messi and Neymar for two separate TIME International cover stories. Ghosh joined TIME as senior editor for TIME Asia, based in Hong Kong, where he was a specialist on South Asian affairs and covered assignments in politics, war, sports, business and technology. He also wrote the weekly TIME.com column Subcontinental Drift. He then moved to London to work as senior editor of TIME Europe, where he launched a travel section, TIME’s Global Adviser, and wrote about European social trends and Middle East politics. Ghosh began his journalistic career straight after graduating from high school when he worked for a local newspaper in southern India. He moved on to a business newspaper in Calcutta and continued to Delhi and Bombay, where he reported business news for magazines. In 1995, he relocated to Hong Kong and joined the Far Eastern Economic Review. Ghosh is currently based in New York City. He is on Twitter @ghoshworld.


This event is exclusive to Media Council members and other invited guests. To find out if you're eligible to join the Media Council, contact Stephanie Kousoulas at 212-621-6732 or mediacouncil@paleycenter.org.

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