K Madhavan: The media boss with a Midas touch

Ahead of the formal restructuring announcement of the Disney Star and Viacom18 merger, K Madhavan, Country Manager & President of Disney Star, has chosen to opt out of the merged entity.

As Country Manager & President of Disney Star, K Madhavan has driven the strategy and growth of the company, responsible for the Disney Star and Disney+ Hotstar businesses and operations across General Entertainment, Sports, Direct-to-Consumer and the Studios business.

Madhavan joined Star India in 2009 as its South Head. Under his leadership, the company built a thriving regional entertainment portfolio.

Previously, he was the driving force behind Asianet’s growth as the undisputed leader in Malayalam with more than 50% market share, serving as MD and CEO from 2000-2008. His vision for the regional language network led to the establishment of quality programming in South India.

Madhavan has steered Disney Star to a leadership position in linear television as well as the streaming businesses, offering content to diverse viewers across geographies.

As Managing Director of South Business at Star India from 2016, he significantly developed and expanded the television market in southern India. He oversaw Star's ventures across four southern states and a portfolio of regional channels in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu. 

Prior to his career in media, Madhavan had a background in banking and corporate finance. He joined Asianet Communications Ltd. in 1999 as Director and later became the MD and CEO in 2000. In 2008, following Star's acquisition of Asianet, Madhavan joined Star as South Head. 

Madhavan's tenure at Asianet was marked by his transformative leadership, seeing the regional broadcaster out of crisis in 1999, and elevating it to a global brand. Under his stewardship, Asianet became the dominant player in the Kerala market and expanded internationally, becoming the leading Malayalam channel in Europe and America after merging with Star India in 2008.

In addition to his role at Disney Star, K Madhavan serves as President of the Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF) and Chairman of the National Committee of Media & Entertainment at CII (Confederation of Indian Industry). 

He also holds directorships at BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) India and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, further cementing his influence in the broadcasting sector.