MUMBAI: Star India has appointed former Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL) CEO Amit Chopra to steer the group?s sports strategy which includes the BCCI media rights.

The new appointment comes in the wake of Star?s increasing involvement in taking care of parent News Corp?s sports business in India. Earlier this year, Star had acquired the BCCI media rights till 2018 for Rs 38.51 billion. This was followed by News Corp consolidating its hold over sports broadcasting in Asia by acquiring for $335 million Disney?s 50 per cent stake in the equal joint venture company, ESPN Star Sports.

ESS is expected to come under Fox International Channels (FIC) for the rest of Asia while the India part will fall under Star India.

Chopra, whose designation is not yet revealed, will report to Star India COO Sanjay Gupta.

Chopra has rich experience in media and FMCG domains in a career spanning 20 years. As CEO of Hindustan Media Venture, he was credited with creating a successful language publishing business for the group.

An Engineer from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Chopra has spent 12 years in FMCG in Hindustan Unilever in a variety of marketing and sales assignments.