Sameer Nair and Star India have decided to part ways and are currently working out the terms of severance. More than 10 associates are expected to follow him.
MUMBAI: It’s finally happened. Sameer Nair and Star India have decided to part ways and are currently working out the terms of severance.
The Star’s CEO is moving, quite possibly to NDTV’s entertainment venture. Ten or more Star employees are likely to follow him.
In a firefighting measure, some of Star’s top brass, John Lau (group chief financial officer), Ian Moore (human resources head), and CEO Paul Aiello have already flown in from Hong Kong.
A formal announcement on Nair’s exit is expected on next Wednesday or Thursday, sources said. But Ajay Vidyasagar, head of content and new media, Star India, told DNA Money all talk of Nair leaving “is baseless and untrue”.
Nair was not available for comment. Timing is of the essence in such critical announcements.
Star India’s prized programme, Kaun Banega Crorepati-3, will launch on Star Plus on January 22.
With huge investments and advertiser and sponsorship revenues riding on this new season, it wouldn’t be business acumen to rock the boat before then.
On the face of it, Nair is still involved in Star’s operations, and had sent a reassuring e-mail to Star India employees a short while back saying he was still in the saddle. But his resignation is officially through, say the sources.
With annual revenues of Rs 2,000 crore, Star India’s TV channels which contribute around 2/3rds of the revenues of the Asia operations of the company, has seen falling audience ratings for some programmes.
For the newly crowned CEO, the problems run much deeper than only top executive departures.
Aiello’s top priorities would be to settle unease at Star India amongst employees in the wake of such exits, while concentrating on keeping morale steady among shareholders, advertisers, and joint-venture partners like Tata Sky.
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