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Cultural differences? Star India in flux as Disney effect gains ground

The people who thought of the Disney-Fox deal, executed it and were its biggest evangelists -Iger and Mayer - have left

Uday Shankar, Rebecca Campbell
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Uday Shankar (left), outgoing chairman, Star & Disney India, and Rebecca Campbell, chairman, international operations and direct-to-consumer at Disney. Shankar was responsible for transforming Star from a ~1,600-crore broadcaster to a Rs 18,000-cr

Vanita Kohli-Khandekar New Delhi
Will the Disney takeover of Star be good or bad for India’s largest media firm? As a mini exodus begins at Star India, the entertainment industry is abuzz with this and other questions. The coming months will see the Disneyfication of Star — that means less focus on sports and broadcasting, more on streaming. It will see a greater emphasis on margins, hiving off of some businesses (like Tata Sky) and slowing investments in others (broadcasting). The process towards a Disneyfied Star —more staid and somewhat bureaucratic —has begun. 

Last year, soon after Disney took over, Star lost country manager Sanjay