K Madhavan, country manager and president of Disney Star, and Sajith Sivanandan, head of Disney+ Hotstar, have stepped down from their positions ahead of the closure of the Viacom18-Disney Star merger, sources have told FE. The exits will be the first top leadership departures from Disney Star after the merger was announced this February.
Text messages to Disney Star elicited no response at the time of going to press. But sources say that there could be more departures as the integration exercise kicks in following the formal merger by October end. The deadline for completion of the merger process is November 1, sources said.
Madhavan took over the role of country manager and president in 2019 after Uday Shankar’s departure. He joined Star India in 2009 as south head, enhancing its regional entertainment portfolio. Sivanandan, on the other hand, who formerly worked for Google, has been two years in the role.
Madhavan, meanwhile, has been responsible for driving overall strategy and growth across the Disney Star’s key verticals. Under his leadership, Disney Star produced nearly 20,000 hours of original programming annually spanning 70+ channels in nine languages and reaching close to 700 million viewers monthly, experts said.
Before joining Star India in 2009 as its south head, Madhavan was key in establishing Asianet as a market leader in Malayalam television, securing an over 50% market share during his tenure as MD & CEO between 2000 and 2008.
At a broader level, the $8.5-billion Disney-Viacom18 joint venture will be one of the leading TV and digital streaming platforms for entertainment and sports content in India, with more than 100 TV channels like Star Plus, Colors and Star Sports, and OTT services such as Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema. The JV will have over 750 million viewers across India and will also cater to the Indian diaspora across the world.
According to experts, the Disney and Reliance JV will create an entity with a turnover of nearly Rs 29,000 crore and a combined viewership market share of 35-40% across media.
The JV will have the TV and digital rights of all key sports properties including the IPL, Women’s Premier League, ICC, cricket boards of India, Australia and South Africa, Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super League, English Premier League, NBA and Olympics.