ITV

Category: Television

  • Sony Pictures Networks India hires southern market expert Rajaraman Sundaram as head content strategy

    Sony Pictures Networks India hires southern market expert Rajaraman Sundaram as head content strategy

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India or Culver Max Entertainment has hired veteran television executive Rajaraman Sundaram as head content strategy. One wonders what one should read into this hire by CEO Gaurav Banerjee.

    Rajaraman has had deep exposure to the southern markets having worked at Vijay Television for almost 11 years in two phases January 2011-March 2006 and April 2009-January 2015. On both occasions, he was in the finance department.

    He was  given charge  of Asianet between December 2017 and September 2021 first as executive vice-president strategy (south) and then as business head. He was given the responsibility of Colors (Tamil) between September 2021 and July 2023.

    Rajaraman was then lured back to Disney Star India to work in the country manager India’s office between August 2023 and November 2024.  In between, the qualified chartered accountant worked with NDTV Imagine for two years (May 2007-April 2009) as vice-president finance. Then he had a stint at Hathway Cable & Datacom as chief operating officer -video business between April 2015 and December 2017.

    A question that needs answering is: in his new role, has Rajaraman been hired  to take Sony into the southern regional language market? Or is he being brought in to help Gaurav Banerjee  build the fictional slate of Sony Entertainment Television?  

    Gaurav Banerjee  and his core management team know it. And he is not telling. As yet. 

  • European T20 Premier League gets ICC nod

    European T20 Premier League gets ICC nod

    MUMBAI: There’s one more international T20 cricket league coming the way of fans of the willow. And it’s coming from where else, Europe, the one bunch of cricket playing nations,  that had been left out of the action. so far. 

    Called the European T20 Premier League  (ETPL) it is to be held from 15 July to 3 August 2025. The league got the sanction from cricket’s global ruling body the International Cricket Council on 4 January.

    The ETPL is a privately-owned franchise tournament with a unique twist – it is a partnership between three cricket nations – Ireland (Cricket Ireland), Scotland  (Cricket Scotland) and the Netherlands (Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond – KNCB). This collaborative approach gives the ETPL  a true European feel and will feature the best talent from those three nations playing alongside some of the best talent from around the world.

    The three cricketing boards  had tried to put together a tournament called the Euro T20 Slam in March 2019 but it had failed to take off. Not even one season was held. Hence, the trio are being a lot more careful now. They have put together an interim working group with a representative from each of them, strategic partner Rules Sport Tech, on behalf of the funding partners,  to guide decision making and oversee the  creation of a new administrative body to run the event. Cricket Ireland  chief executive Warren Deutrom has been elected chair of the interim working group. 

    Said  Deutrom:  “We are delighted to confirm the ICC sanction of the ETPL and agreements are now in place across the joint venture partners. This is an important day in the development of the event, as it effectively fires the starting pistol on work around three important areas – franchise ownership, broadcast and the player draft. These are exciting times for cricket in Europe, and for local cricket fans, as we showcase some of the best cricket talent from Europe and around the world.”

    A formal launch of the tournament and further details will be provided in due course, he added. 

  • UFO Moviez promotes Siddharth Bhardwaj as CEO digital cinema

    UFO Moviez promotes Siddharth Bhardwaj as CEO digital cinema

    MUMBAI: UFO Moviez, a network for in-cinema advertising and digital cinema distribution, has announced change at the top.

    Siddharth Bhardwaj, currently the group CMO and national sales head, has been promoted to chief executive officer of the digital cinema business. A qualified mechanical engineer with an MBA in marketing, Bhardwaj brings over 28 years of experience across various industries. Since joining UFO Moviez in 2012, he has been instrumental in establishing the company’s advertising revenue and advocating for cine-media as a preferred platform for impactful advertising.

    In his new role, Bhardwaj will oversee the company’s digital cinema business, focusing on leveraging competitive advantages to drive growth. He will continue to report to UFO Moviez executive director & group CEO Rajesh Mishra.

    “Siddharth’s experience and strategic acumen have been instrumental in shaping UFO Moviez’s success over the years,” said Mishra. “His elevation to CEO of the digital cinema business reflects our confidence in his ability to lead the company into the next level of growth. I am certain that under his leadership, UFO Moviez will continue to innovate and deliver value to all our partners and stakeholders.”

  • Production house Bodhi Tree Multimedia seeks to raise funds

    Production house Bodhi Tree Multimedia seeks to raise funds

    MUMBAI: The Mautik Tolia-Sukesh Motwani-promoted Bodhi Tree Multimedia has a fund raise on its horizon. On 2 January 2025, the rights issue committee of the company approved the draft letter of offer to raise funds through the issue of equity shares of Rs 1 each. The shares are to be issued to eligible shareholders on a rights basis and the total raise will be within Rs 49 crore. The premium on the Rs 1 share will be decided at a later date. 

    Bodhi Tree informed the Bombay stock exchange about its intentions on 2 January. 

    The film and TV production house also said that it would submit the draft letter of offer to the National stock exchange as well as the Bombay stock exchange  seeking their in-principle approval for the rights issue. 

    Bodhi Tree’s production portfolio includes: Class, the Gone Game, Gunaah, Main Hoon Aparjita, Poornima, and The Interns.  The company has produced more than 40 shows for 10 broadcasters and platforms in five languages totaling almost 3,000 hours of content. 

  • Bodhitree Multimedia’s Gunaah season 2 to premier on Disney+Hotsstar on 3 Jan

    Bodhitree Multimedia’s Gunaah season 2 to premier on Disney+Hotsstar on 3 Jan

    MUMBAI: Come 3 January and Bodhitree Multimedia’s second season of drama Gunaah is going to premier  on Disney+Hotstar.  This new season takes the intensity up a notch, delving deeper into a gripping tale of revenge, betrayal, and love. With more twists, emotional drama, and shocking revelations, it promises to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. It  stars  Abhimanyu (Gashmeer Mahajani), Tara (Surbhi Jyoti), Shiva (Zayn Iqbal Khan), JK (Darshan Pandya) and Michael (Shashank Ketkar) amongst others, 

    Director Anil Senior said, “I’m beyond excited to bring Gunaah Season 2 to our audience. After the overwhelming success of Season 1 on Disney+ Hotstar, we knew we had to raise the stakes even higher. This season isn’t just about revenge and betrayal; it’s about exploring the raw, unfiltered emotions of each character. Their journeys are more complex, and I believe viewers will truly connect with the depth of their struggles. It’s been a thrilling challenge to push the boundaries of storytelling and create an even more intense and immersive experience. I can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve put together.” 

    Bodhitree Multimedia producer & managing drector Mautik Tolia added, “The return of Gunaah with its second season is a reflection of the incredible response and love the audience has given to this series. At Bodhitree Multimedia, we strive to create stories that resonate deeply and Gunaah is no exception. This season delves into the complexities of human relationships, blending intense drama with emotions that are both raw and real. It has been an awarding journey bringing this story to life and we are thrilled to take audiences on another unforgettable ride.” 

    Surbhi Jyoti, who plays Tara, expressed, “Season 1 introduced everyone to Tara’s world—her struggles, her relationships, and the weight of her choices. But Season 2 is on a whole new level. Tara is thrown into situations that challenge everything she stands for, pushing her strength and emotions to their very limits. The twists in her relationship with Abhimanyu are heart-wrenching and raw, and I think anyone who has ever wrestled with love, guilt, or redemption will deeply connect with her story. I’m so excited for audiences to see this side of her—it’s emotional, intense, and full of surprises!”   

     Gashmeer Mahajani, who plays Abhimanyu, shared, “Abhimanyu’s journey in Gunaah Season 2 is nothing short of extraordinary. This time, his choices are more difficult, his struggles are more profound, and his vulnerabilities are laid bare. It was both challenging and rewarding to portray his evolution, especially as he navigates the tumultuous relationships and high-stakes decisions that define this season. I’m confident that viewers will resonate with the complexities of his character and the emotional depth of his story.” 

  • Reliance Industries: a subsidiary change

    Reliance Industries: a subsidiary change

    MUMBAI: Network18 Media & Investments informed the Bombay stock exchange on the evening of 31 December that Viacom18 India had ceased to be its subsidiary on 30 December and become a direct offshoot of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

    This, it said,  happened when RIL converted 24,61,33,682 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) held by it in Viacom18 into 24,61,33,682 equity shares. Post this conversion, RIL’s equity holding in Viacom18 went up to 83.88 per cent and 70.49 per cent on a fully diluted basis. Network18 ended up with 16.12 per cent of Viacom18’s  total equity share capital and 13.54 per cent on a fully diluted basis. On 14 November, RIL had informed  the exchange that its stake in Viacom18 was at 70.49 pr cent on a fully diluted basis following its acquisition of Paramount’s 13.01 per cent stake (on a fully diluted basis) in it for Rs 4,286 crore. 

    AS per the BSE regulatory filing, Viacom18 was a material subsidiary of Network18 with nil turnover and a net worth of Rs 26,928.17 crore (representing 90.39 per cent, of the annual consolidated net worth of  Network18) for the financial year 2023-24.

    Network18    received     intimation     from     Viacom18     on 30 December at 7:46 p.m. regarding the allotment of equity shares to RIL pursuant to conversion of CCPS.

    The shareholders of Network18 had earlier approved this change of ownership.

    With this transition, Viacom18 will now operate under RIL control.

  • From Zee to the Sun, Pankaj Rathod joins as broadcast operations & eng head

    From Zee to the Sun, Pankaj Rathod joins as broadcast operations & eng head

    MUMBAI: He’s decided to take a trip to the Sun – the Sun TV  Network that is. Pankaj Rathod has hopped on to  Sun TV as the head broadcast operations & engineering (Sun Neo | Sun Marathi | Sun Bangla). He joins Sun after nearly 13 years with Zee Entertainment Enterprises where he ended up as director- content operations, metadata syncing & publishing (Zee5) and music monitoring.

    Prior to Zee, he  was employed in three organisations for a year and some months each. First was with FoodFoodTV where he was head: scheduling/ sales ops/ traffic / presentation. Then he was head: operations & inventory planning at Mediasys Solutions. Third, he was manager sales operations at 9X  and 9XM.

    Before this he ventured into Siemens Information Systems where he offered broadcast TV solutions to television channels for a couple of years. A long five year run at  Sony Entertainment Television  resulted in him being promoted to sales coordinator, group executive – revenue management. He worked there for five years. 

    The BA in Economics’ first job  in media was with Mid-Day Publications where he ended up as senior media executive in the advertising department after four years.

    Expressing his happiness at joining Sun TV Pankaj said: “I have got the opportunity to build my expertise in broadcast operations (presentation, traffic & sales ops), inventory planning & management and evaluating & implementing – broadcast management system (BMS). My exposure in the print, broadcast and digital media has made me appreciate the nuances of the industry as a whole.” 

  • Copyrights registrar grants copyright society status to Indian screenwriters rights body

    Copyrights registrar grants copyright society status to Indian screenwriters rights body

    MUMBAI: It took four years  and a little more to come through, but it finally has. The Screenwriters Rights Association of India (SRAI) has got the go-ahead from the registrar of copyrights Unnat P Pandit on 30 December to operate as a copyright society under the Copyright Act, 1957.  What that means is that it can collect royalties for dramatic works  and literary works associated with dramatic works.  

    This means good news for story writers, scriptwriters, dialogue writers of television shows , OTT shows and films. They  can now look forward to a future where they can get royalties for their works.

    In fact, the Screen Writers Association (SWA)  and its members were made aware  of this through minister of commerce Piyush Goyal’s office which posted the SRAI certificate on social media late in the evening of 30 December.

    The request for the registration was made to the  registrar of copyrights (which falls under the department for promotion of industry and internal trade  which in turn is a body under the commerce ministry) on 4 November 2020 by SRAI’s chairman Anjum Rajabali with Vinod Ranganathan as the CEO and veteran writers like Saket Chaudhary, Kamlesh Pandey, Rajesh Dubey, Vipul Shah, Mohammed Badiuzzaman (Zaman Habib), Javed Akhtar and Juhi Asheesh Malhotra as members of the governing body, according to documents available with indiantelevision.com..

    The SRAI is a section 7 company and was set up in February 2016.

    For the writing community, however, this is probably the first step of many to follow.

    “What will follow are negotiations between the SRAI and the platforms  – whether OTT or broadcasters or producers – on the rate of the royalties,” says an industry source. “How long this will take will depend on how reasonable both sides will be. However, when an agreement is reached, it will be succor for the writing community which has been deprived of royalties unlike their counterparts in other parts of the world.” 

  • Surbhi Nagpal heads to Wion and Zee Business as national head sales

    Surbhi Nagpal heads to Wion and Zee Business as national head sales

    MUMBAI: She’s moving out of Outbrain and into Zee Media. Sales hotshot Surbhi Nagpal will be leading national sales for Wion and Zee Business.. Based in Noida, Nagpal will spearhead efforts to drive revenue generation, optimise sales operations, and enhance the profitability of both the channels.

    Surbhi has more than 20 years of work experience in both and linear and digital sales, having worked at companies such as  NDTV India, Outbrain, Discovery Communications India, and Disney+ Hotstar.

    The post graduate diploma holder in international business had the right start to her career when she joined Taj Hotels in Delhi in 2001 and rose to become deputy manager sales within four years. She then worked at American Express for a brief period before tasting blood in television sales  when she joined NDTV India  as a senior sales manager looking after NDTV Good Times and NDTV Lifestyle.

    She moved to Aidem Ventures for a while after which she rejoined NDTV Lifestyle as vice-president sales –  a post she held for more than three years. Her impressive profile got her next assignment as national head international business at Star India. She was shifted to Disney+Hotstar as national vertical head for FMCG (F&B). Challenging though her job was, she parted ways after nearly three years to join Discovery Communications as director sales. Three and a half years later she moved on to join Vikram Chandra’s editorji when Outbrain came calling.

    Her comprehensive knowledge and wide exposure to the media sector, combined with her ability to adapt to shifting market conditions, positions her as a key driver of growth at Zee Media, going forward.

  • Mumbai’s local trains, women commuters and Zee TV’s Bas Itna Sa Khwaab

    Mumbai’s local trains, women commuters and Zee TV’s Bas Itna Sa Khwaab

    MUMBAI:  Zee TV’s  7 pm show Bas Itna sa Khwab has women navigating the challenging tug of war between duty calls at work and home as its central premise.  What   better way can there be to bring out this central theme than branding trains which commuters (in this case, women) hop on to daily to get to their workplaces.

    Which is what the Zee TV marketing team has done. In a first of its kind tactic for Hindi general entertainment channels, multiple Mumbai local AC trains and the Delhi metro have been plastered with the  show’s key visuals, turning them into moving billboards.  The branded trains beautifully captured the essence of Bas Itna Sa Khwaab, which celebrates women who strike a fine balance between their work and family responsibilities.

    To top that, the show’s protagonist  Rajashree Thakur who plays the role of Avani Trivedi, stepped from reel to rail and took this message into the heart of Mumbai—aboard the city’s bustling local trains. Rajashree’s journey on the train became the heart of the campaign. She connected with fellow commuters, heard their inspiring stories, drew parallels between her own life and her character of Avani and brought joy to the crowd with a lively game of antakshari. Her presence transformed an everyday commute into a celebration of the unsung multitasking heroes of Mumbai. 

    (You can watch the reel about the marketing initiative here:)

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    A post shared by Zee TV (@zeetv)

    “ Branding Mumbai’s AC locals and having our show’s protagonist, Avani,  travel with daily commuters is a heartfelt initiative to bridge reel and real,” said Zee TV chief channel officer  Mangesh Kulkarni. “Through this unique experience, we wanted our Avani to meet the countless Avanis of the city—women whose strength lies in juggling myriad responsibilities and striking a balance between home and work, often without the acknowledgment they truly deserve. It’s a celebration of their resilience, and a reminder that the story of ‘Bas Itna Sa Khwaab’ is, in many ways, their own story too.”

     “Meeting women on the train who live similar lives was incredibly humbling,” expressed  Rajashree Thakur.  “Their stories of juggling long commutes, demanding jobs, and family responsibilities turned out to be truly inspiring. I hope my portrayal encourages women to dream big while finding their balance in life.”

    The marketing initiative helped build an emotional connect with women commuters. Now let’s wait and watch how much the buzz generated around it will help its ratings climb.