NEW DELHI: The waiting is over! TV Today Television Network news director Uday Shankar is all set to join Star News as the content head as soon as his present employers relieve him officially.
According to information available with indiantelevision.com, Shankar has put in his papers at TV Today, which manages the countrys subse tez channel Aaj Tak and its English sibling Headlines Today.
But there is a small hitch: the resignation has not been accepted as company promoter Aroon Purie still wants to hold back Shankar, who is understood to have made up his mind that its time to move on and look for newer challenges to keep the adrenaline pumping.
A formal announcement cannot be made as both Purie and company CEO G Krishnan are presently out of the country.
If Shankar is relieved by TV Today before the month is out ---- Purie and Krishnan are slated to return to India over the weekend --- then, in all probability, he would join Star News some time next month. In any case, Star News would like Shankar to join before the countdown to the general elections start, when a news channel can really show its mettle.
Media Content & Communication Services India Pvt. Ltd. (MCCS), which manages the affairs of Star News, pleaded ignorance on the matter and a response from TV Today could not be elicited.
As the content head of Star News, Shankar would be based in Mumbai, though there are talks of refurbishing the Delhi bureau too, by inducting some more senior people.
Though Aaj Tak retains its numero uno position, new kids on the block notwithstanding, Star News and NDTVs Hindi channel are slugging it out for the number two position (both claim to have a hold on the second position).
Just getting Shankar may not ensure that Aaj Tak can be toppled from the top slot as the success story of the channel, which has garnered over 50 per cent of the market share, would be a difficult ballgame to replicate even by Shankar. A journalist by profession, Shankar has worked in several media houses, including the now-defunct Business India TV channel BiTV.
