There’s a lot happening at Star India at the moment with its integration into the media and entertainment giant Disney underway. A crucial aspect of that arrangement played out on Thursday as president 21st Century Fox, Asia and chairman and CEO of Star India Uday Shankar was named chairman Star and Disney India, and president The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific as part of an international business unit restructuring.

Another interesting development that has taken place at Star India is the bet it has taken to adopt a digital-only approach in the key US market. Starting 5 January, Star India’s TV channels will be streaming only on Hotstar in the US. The entire Star India network, including Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Vijay, Maa, Asianet and Movies OK, will no longer be available on any cable TV provider in the US including Dish TV, Sling TV, Comcast, Verizon.

While Star is the first major Indian broadcaster to go this route, others will eventually follow suit, an industry expert told Indiantelevision.com on the condition of anonymity, adding that the decision makes 'complete sense' given the current dynamics of the US market.

The phenomenon of cord-cutting which stemmed from the US accelerated rapidly this year. According to a recent report by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 1.2 million people migrated from traditional cable TV in the 3rd (July-September)quarter, one of the worst quarters in pay-TV history.

Star’s decision could deliver a huge boost to its international OTT arm by driving up its subscription numbers.

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