Star Struck: Confessions of a TV Executive

by Peter Mukerjea

There is no guide to cracking the biggest TV market in the world. What there is, is the incredible story of how it was done, written by the man who was at the forefront of it all. The early ’90s marked an age of American TV dominating the world, from Baywatch to Cheers to The Jerry Springer Show. Only, it wasn’t winning over the Indian market, where access to one billion TV viewers was dominated by a powerful terrestrial network. Sensing a once-in-a-generation opportunity, Rupert Murdoch gave Peter Mukerjea a seemingly impossible task—to grow a tiny foreign-owned TV channel in India into one of the biggest in the world. If Peter Mukerjea was David, Goliath was a broadcasting behemoth with the weight of the Indian government behind it, and decades of funding, brand-building and a deeply entrenched place in the hearts and minds of Indian viewers. And as any self-respecting giant-slayer will tell you, the only way to take down such an opponent is to throw convention out of the window, risk failure every day and pull together a rag-tag team of adventurers to join the impossible quest. From battling rival CEOs to winning over presidents, from making multimillion dollar deals in the back of a Mumbai taxi to audaciously hiring the biggest film star in the world as your TV host—and making him even bigger—this book chronicles the unbelievable (yet 100 per cent true) story of how a crack team turned Star TV from a quirky challenger channel to the shining jewel in the crown of the Murdoch, and now Disney, global media empire.

Kindle Edition

Published February 15, 2021

Reviews

[Janak Mistry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated with the way the Television industry functions and generates a huge amount of revenue. The book is just a perfect answer to the ever-changing scenarios and transformations of the Indian Television Industry along with an Indian family altering their choices for their entertainment.

KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati) has always been a fascinating show for obvious reasons. A brief insight into have it happened was never imagined and how the author managed to pull it off is surely one of the most courageous moves. A step that changed the dynamics of the Indian Television Industry.

The gradual progress to the story unfolds a lot of ideas and afterthoughts on how would it all have been in real.
A small gesture to plan up the meetings in the city where one of the employees had to visit regularly is never heard of. A small gesture which I am sure has gone a long way.

A must-read for anyone who enjoys a good non-fiction book and how the private television industry changed from the man who was at the center of the action.

[Ekta Parekh · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a media person, having started my career in India, this book was a treat. It offers a great glimpse into the Star India journey and transformation, answers some of the why’s to the decisions taken and gives an insight into the thinking that went behind it. I would have liked to know a lot more.

There are some gems inside that he has penned from his experience, the one that stayed with me is when he says “Presenting a counter-response is essential to test the waters and flush out the real intent”, when dealing with a crucial decision in his life.

Pacy, easy to read and well worth the wait.

[Sunil Narula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked it. Full of anecdotes. Peter can be called game changer with the way he took Star to the top.

[Pulkit Tiwari · Rating 2 out of 5]

superficial account of an interesting era of Indian TV