‘Satyamev Jayate’ goes to China
Star India CEO Uday Shankar says the channel has sold the broadcast rights of Satyamev Jayate to a company in China
New Delhi: Rupert Murdoch-owned Star India Pvt. Ltd is selling the rights to broadcast its critically acclaimed and popular show Satyamev Jayate, hosted by movie actor Aamir Khan, to a media company in China, chief executive officer Uday Shankar said on Friday.
“After the first season of Satyamev Jayate, we got enquiries from all over Asia, but the highest number of enquiries came from China," Shankar said at the Paley Media Centre in New York. “We have sold the broadcast rights of Satyamev Jayate to a company in China," Shankar said in response to a question from the audience about taking Indian content overseas.
He didn’t disclose details of the deal including the buyer and the price at which the rights were sold.
The Paley Media Council Breakfast dialogue where Shankar spoke was moderated by TimeInternational editor Bobby Ghosh. James Murdoch, co-chief operating officer, 21st Century Fox—the parent company of Star India—was also present at the event.
The first season of Satyamev Jayate went on air in May 2012 with 13 weekly episodes that discussed issues such as female foeticide, child sexual abuse, dowry, medical malpractices and honour killings, among others.
The second season of the show was aired before the April-May general elections and contained five episodes. Two more seasons of the show with five episodes each are slated for this year.
“My bosses encouraged me to pursue the agenda to challenge the status quo. That’s how Satyamev Jayate came along. At Star we believe that all content we create should lean towards corporate social responsibility or as a media company we’ve failed," Shankar said.
Shankar has been at the helm at Star India since 2007.
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