Sameer Nair is reported to have quit as the CEO of Star TV and is expected to join NDTV as the head of the latter's new entertainment joint venture with film director Karan Johar.

Nair could not be contacted despite numerous attempts to get in touch with him. KVL Narayan Rao, director, NDTV, said: "I have nothing to say on this."

Nair, who took over as programming head of Start TV, shot into the limelight after the success of KBC with superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Nair was moved up the Star TV ladder and first made the chief operating officer, and then took over as the CEO.

Peter Mukherjea, who was at the helm of affairs at Star TV for a long time, was moved up as the CEO of the Star group with responsibilities of looking at government relations and new businesses like the Internet.

Nair's move, if true, would come at a crucial time when Star TV has launched its most expensive gambit through KBC3 starring Shah Rukh Khan as the super anchor. The show will go on air in the third week of this month.