Murdoch may reshuffle Star TV top pack

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A major management reshuffle may be on the cards at Star Television India. James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, is in Mumbai for the annual financial review of the company (as Star observes financial year end in June) and may put in place a different structure to beef up the sagging imagine of Star vis-à-vis other general entertainment channels including Sony and Zee TV.

Both Sony and Zee TV have gained enough momentum through the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Indian Cricket League (ICL) respectively, which will now make way for other properties on these channels.

On the other hand, the big-ticket show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?, based on the international show, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? which was launched by Star during the ongoing IPL tournament, hasn’t gone down well with the audiences.

According to Audience Measurement and Analytics, Paanchvi, which opened with an average rating of 4, is now down to 1.2. During the launch of the show, the market share of Star among GECs in the 8 pm-9 pm-time band, in North, East and West was 18.7%, which is now down to 5.7%. Eyebrows are now being raised both internally at Star and in the media circuit as to what Star could do to create a momentum and sustain it and who would be able to do so.

Sources disclose that the apparent failure of the show has put Star India’s COO Uday Shankar under the scanner. Shankar, who was the CEO of Media Content & Communications Services (MCCS), a 74:26 joint venture between the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group (ABP) and the Star Group, joined Star India in 2007 and is mandated to oversee the company’s overall operations. He reports to Paul Aiello, CEO of STAR India.

Sources reveal that James Murdoch is extremely displeased with Shankar’s call on Paanchvi, so much so that Shankar may even be asked to step down from the current designation. A corollary to this news is if Shankar is eased out of Star or given a separate portfolio within the company, Jagdish Kumar, the current COO of the financial department, may be elevated to replace Shankar.

Yash Khanna, vice-president, corporate communications, Star Television, declined to comment on ‘industry speculation’.

A request to interact with Murdoch was turned down and Khanna said, “He has come for an internal meeting and is not meeting media this time.”