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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
The former Star India chief at 59 is making a comeback with a play in tech.
Editor's note: Uday Shankar looks like he has aged a lifetime. His face is that of a man who has had a long day—puffy eyes and a five o’clock shadow. It is late at night in California, but he is still awake, juggling at least three different time zones and somehow fitting this interview into his schedule. It’s Friday afternoon for me, Thursday night for him. He is on my laptop screen, dressed in a violet tee, tan brown pants and a white Apple watch. Almost unrecognizable without his signature formal outfits of muted tones. There is an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. “You look really tired,” I venture. “It happens when you have multiple things to do, but no job,” he says, jokingly. It was almost this time last year when Shankar called it a day on what was possibly the most successful career in the history of Indian television. The 59-year-old media executive had stepped down as Disney’s Asia-Pacific president and chairman of Star and Disney India in October 2020. Shankar’s exit was perceived as the end of an …
The former Star India chief at 59 is making a comeback with a play in tech.
Editor's note: Uday Shankar looks like he has aged a lifetime. His face is that of a man who has had a long day—puffy eyes and a five o’clock shadow. It is late at night in California, but he is still awake, juggling at least three different time zones and somehow fitting this interview into his schedule. It’s Friday afternoon for me, Thursday night for him. He is on my laptop screen, dressed in a violet tee, tan brown pants and a white Apple watch. Almost unrecognizable without his signature formal outfits of muted tones. There is an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. “You look really tired,” I venture. “It happens when you have multiple things to do, but no job,” he says, jokingly. It was almost this time last year when Shankar called it a day on what was possibly the most successful career in the history of Indian television. The 59-year-old media executive had stepped down as Disney’s Asia-Pacific president and chairman of Star and Disney India in October 2020. Shankar’s exit was perceived as the end of an …
A shrinking linear TV business, $2 billion in annual payments for cricket rights and money-guzzling streaming platforms threaten to dampen the post-merger euphoria.
Mukesh Ambani and Bob Iger have decided to bring together Reliance and Disney and create an unparalleled Indian media behemoth. The man at the center of it all is the former Disney India chief.
Once India’s most profitable entertainment company, Zee’s a shadow of its former self and may be easy pickings for its one-time suitor Reliance.
A shrinking linear TV business, $2 billion in annual payments for cricket rights and money-guzzling streaming platforms threaten to dampen the post-merger euphoria.
Mukesh Ambani and Bob Iger have decided to bring together Reliance and Disney and create an unparalleled Indian media behemoth. The man at the center of it all is the former Disney India chief.
Once India’s most profitable entertainment company, Zee’s a shadow of its former self and may be easy pickings for its one-time suitor Reliance.
