ForbesIndia-We HaveTo Challenge The Status Quo-CEO UdayShankar-DABH Me

Forbes Interview of Star India CEO UdayShankar - Diya Aur Baati Hum Mentioned

When journalist Uday Shankar took over 21st Century Fox-owned Star India in 2007, its leadership was under pressure. A thoughtful risk taker, Shankar took unconventional decisions to give content a new lease of life. He attempted to make Indian television more socially relevant: Serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki made way for powerful, women-led serials like Diya Aur Baati Hum, Saathiya and Pratigya that hit the bull's eye with audiences and advertisers.

Shankar then turned conventional entertainment programming on its head by roping in Aamir Khan to do Satyamev Jayate. The talk show bulldozed its way into India's social consciousness by taking a deep dive into hard-hitting issues like rape, dowry, and sex-selective abortions. The third season is now in the works.

Satyamev Jayate caught the eye of boss James Murdoch, the co-chief operating officer, at 21st Century Fox. Shankar says Murdoch threw a lifeline to Satyamev Jayate at a time when others in the company were seeing it as an extravagant exercise in lunacy. According to reliable sources, Satyamev Jayate costs a staggering Rs 5 crore an episode so it was a bold risk.

"I was told by a company executive that I was "totally out of line," when I discussed the concept of Satyamev Jayate. So I spoke with James and asked if I had his approval to go ahead and risk this whole investment," says Shankar. "He said we would live'."

So successful is the show now that it costs more than twice as much for a slot in the ad breaks as it does for cricket's IPL. The first season, consisting of 13 episodes, was viewed by 517 million Indians.

Shankar is now placing another studied bet: Star is spending Rs 20,000 crore on sports to cultivate male viewers. He is betting on India, with the world's youngest population, to spur demand for sports. Analysts say it's a paying market with ad spend on sports packages pegged at roughly Rs 4,000 crore annually.

Star beams over 5,000 hours of live sports through six sports channels, but Shankar plans to take sports broadcasting to local tournaments. He is also building a digital growth avenue through starsports.com to deliver sports online. Star is biting the bullet and forking over Rs 3,851 crore to BCCI for television rights until 2018.

Television audience measurements show Star has sharp-cornered 24.8 percent market share, taking the lead on rivals Zee TV and Sony who have 16 percent and 10 percent respectively. Star's revenue has expanded 25 percent in the last five years to over Rs 6,400 crore. Murdoch recently touted the growth outlook for the Indian business, saying it could eventually top operating profit of $1 billion a year.

Shankar talked to Forbes India about Star's digital dreams, the importance of putting the spotlight on social issues in India and the path forward.

Q. Why did you divest your stake in home shopping venture Star CJ Network?
My team and I were not very excited about home shopping since the core proposition of Star network is unique proprietary content.

Q. Have a lot of global media companies made the mistake in India of bringing a business model and trying to work with it willy-nilly? How has Star done things differently?
A lot of people and media companies have tried to foist a foreign business model on India. That simply doesn't work. India has too much social, economic and language diversity. We also have our own sensibility.

What has Star done in India? Our parentage and ownership is global but Star has become an Indian company. If you ask ordinary viewers, they don't know that Star has foreign ownership. This is because our programming reflects sensibilities that are uniquely Indian and capture both the legacy and aspiration of India. That's been the core of the Indianisation.

I would like to think my own background helped somewhat in that as an Indian journalist you are aware of issues that people care about. The first requirement of credibility is familiarity. You have to become an insider when you try to build a media business in India and earn trust " that is what we have done.

We have expanded Star's operations in India into 34 channels in seven languages and regional brands that reach about 650 million viewers every week.