Mumbai, NFAPost: US-headquartered diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate The Walt Disney Company has announced that Chief Executive Officer Of Star India Uday Shankar will step down from his position by the end of 2020.
Apart from being the Chairman of Star & Disney India, Uday Shankar was also heading for Asia Pacific region of the Walt Disney Company in 2019, after Disney acquired 21st Century Fox from global media mugal Rupert Murdoch.
During his stint at Star, Uday Shankar made a deep business impact by making aggressive bets and boldly try out new concepts and ideas that often came to define a market. His era also marked dramatic changes in India’s broadcasting and entertainment landscape.
Besides Rs 16,347.5 crore all or nothing bid for the global media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Rs 6,138.1 crore bid for the BCCI rights, Uday Shankar took bold bets which others in the industry could materialise like Rs 2,400 crore buyout deal for Maa TV Network.
Rebecca Campbell, Chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment issued a statement on Shankar’s decision to move on.
As per Uday Shankar, he always believed in the power of creativity and cutting-edge technology to create a better world. He considered himself incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to do so at Star, 21CF and later at The Walt Disney Company.
“As I look back on this journey, I take pride in having set ambitious goals in my professional career, and achieving all that we set out to do,” he said.
Uday Shankar said that for some time now he had been contemplating the question of how he can give back to the country, community and the industry that had given him so much.
“I think the best way to express my gratitude to all of them will be to support and mentor a new generation of entrepreneurs as they set out to create transformational solutions that will have a positive impact on countless lives. I intend to partner with global investors and pioneers to achieve this,” Uday Shankar said.
If rumours are to be believed then Shankar might join former employer James Murdoch, who has set up family office Lupa Systems, or may start his own fund backed by Murdoch and other sovereign funds.
In his decades plus stint at Star, Uday Shankar changed the orbit for India’s biggest broadcaster.
When Uday Shankar was named CEO of Star India 2007, it seemed like a temporary arrangement after the top talent had left the network along with the two co-CEOs – Peter Mukerjea and Sameer Nair, who both quit to launch their own channels.
He played a pivotal role in launching multiple domestic sports leagues like those in Kabaddi and Football. Under his leadership, Star launched its OTT platform Hotstar.
Prior to Star, he was CEO and editor of Star News, the then joint venture between Star India and ABP Group.
Shankar was also the Editor and news director at TV Today Group, where he spearheaded the launch of Aaj Tak in 2000 and Headlines Today (Now India Today TV) in 2003
