V India, Channel [V]'s Internet property, will be consolidated under Star Interactive. Mr Lalit Ahuja will oversee the entire operations of all Star TV's Internet business.

Mr Mahesh Murthy will no longer be a consultant of Channel V. He was responsible for putting up the V India Website. Murthy has floated and manages a fund called PassionFund which has invested in portals like indiaproperties.com where Star TV has picked up a stake.

Channel [V] consultant Shashanka Ghosh has also left to float a production house company. Mr Ghosh, alongwith Mr Murthy, was a key member of the team responsible for repositioning Channel [V] from a music channel to a youth brand.

Channel [V] will no longer have a general manager after the exit of Mr Bala. With the integration of the Channel with News Television (India) Ltd., there will be no need for an officiating head. Incidentally, there are no general managers for any of the Star TV channels. Said Mr Bala, "Channel V will no longer function as an independent outfit. It will be under the direct control of Star TV. After the merger of functions under Star TV, there is no role for a general manager."

So is that the reason why he left? "The feeling of a mission went out. I felt I had other fish to fry. Besides, all this was coming at a tremendous personal cost as my family is based in Canada," said Mr Bala.

Mr Bala, who resigned last week, will team up with a few partners to set up a broadband project. "We are waiting for funding. But it will be related to broadband and convergence as that is the area which interests me," he said.However Mr Bala claims the he will start work on his new venture only after Diwali. "I am taking a month's break," he said.

Channel [V]'s marketing and ad sales will be under Mr L S Nayak who is in charge of all the Star TV channels except Star Plus. Mr Jaideep Grewal, who was head of marketing, has moved to Mr Kerry Packer's Channel Nine. Though the management functions have been integrated, Mr Bala does not think Channel [V] will move away from its position as a youth brand. "After one year of relaunch, our revenues are looking up. There may not be radical changes made on the channel," he said.