ITV

Category: People

  • Disney India announces key appointments in Studios

    Disney India announces key appointments in Studios

    MUMBAI:  Disney India has announced some key appointments in its Studios business. The Studio has an eclectic line-up coming up with a mix of Hindi, Hollywood and south films which includes Heropanti, Filmistaan, Pizza, Raja Natwarlal, Khubsoorat, Haider, P.K., Jagga Jasoos and Fitoor in Hindi, Maleficent, Guardians of the Galaxy in English, Sigaram Thodu, Anjaan, Purambokku, Yatchan in Tamil and many more.

     

    Prakhar Joshi joins the Studio as a director and will head the India theatrical distribution. A veteran in the business with nearly 17 years of experience at PVR Cinemas most recently as head of programming, Joshi comes with diverse experience across verticals like film programming, movie distribution and cinema operations. He has been involved with the multiplex business in India since its inception and brings with him an in-depth understanding of the distribution and exhibition sector.

     

    Sandeep Kumar Das joins the dynamic and experienced marketing team at the Studio, as associate director, marketing from Viacom18 Motion Pictures, where he has handled the campaigns of films like Kahaani, Chashme Baddoor and Queen amongst others. Prior to his stint at Viacom 18, Kumar was part of the marketing team at UTV and was associated with the highly successful campaigns of films like Dev D, A Wednesday, Aamir and No One Killed Jessica.

     

    Lada Guruden Singh joins as head, Public Relations. Guruden was earlier in charge of Public Relations and corporate communications at Fox Star Studios, India. A published author, Guruden has been an entertainment anchor and journalist with the TV Today Network in Delhi and Mumbai.

     

    The new appointees report to Studios marketing and distribution VP & head Amrita Pandey.

  • Abundantia Entertainment beefs up creative team

    Abundantia Entertainment beefs up creative team

    MUMBAI: Abundantia Entertainment has beefed up its team significantly by adding former Viacom18 Motion Pictures creative chief Shivaji Dasgupta and former Sahara Movie Studios’ head of content & development Shikhaa Sharma to its people line-up.

     

    Established with the vision of producing and supporting progressive, high-quality entertainment content, Abundantia Entertainment has taken strong strides, especially in its motion pictures business, in a short span of time.

     

    Top-lining the announcement, Shivaji Dasgupta, an industry veteran of two decades, has played a key role in green-lighting and producing some of the finest and most critically acclaimed films of the last decade. With hands-on production experience to boot, Dasgupta’s impressive filmography includes Gangs of Wasseypur, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Madras Cafe, Kahaani, LSD, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai and Chashme Baddoor amongst others. Dasgupta will run Abundantia’s creative & production business and will have additional charge of commercial affairs for his slate of films.

     

    To spearhead Abundantia’s content development and incubation business across films, television and digital, it has brought on board Shikhaa Sharma who was until recently in-charge of the content and development function at Sahara Movie Studios and has also served in senior roles in the creative functions at Balaji Motion Pictures and Tips Industries in the past. Sharma’s filmography includes recent hits like Lootera, The Dirty Picture, Shor In The City and Race. Sharma’s core strength of identifying and mentoring new talent has seen her successfully support work from first-time writers and directors in the past.

     

    Dasgupta and Sharma will manage their roles independently while reporting to Abundantia founder and CEO Vikram Malhotra. Speaking on the new additions to the team Malhotra said, “Creativity, ideas and innovation are at the heart of Abundantia’s business model. I am delighted that we now have two of the brightest and most experienced creative minds in the business leading the charge at Abundantia. Shivaji has been associated with some of the finest film content in recent times and his production and commercial acumen will significantly enhance the quality and profitability of our slate. In Shikhaa we have somebody with formidable creative understanding and content development ability and coupled with her deep industry relationships, I look forward to taking our creative capability to the next level. I am confident that this dynamic duo will raise the bar for creative content in our business.”

     

    Driving the model of creating ‘talent-studio partnerships,’ Abundantia has assembled an impressive line-up for the first two years of operations of its motion pictures business. Combined with a strategic stake acquisition of Crouching Tiger Motion Pictures, the studio announced multiple film deals with production houses led by some of the hottest names in the movies business in India. Top-lining the slate are projects with Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday, Special 26), Shoojit Sircar (Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe) and Nikhil Advani (D-Day, Kal Ho Na Ho) as well as up-coming talent like Soumik Sen (Gulaab Gang) and a set of talented first-time directors. At various stages of production, the slate will witness releases starting as early as mid-2014.

  • AMC Networks promotes Elana Mandelup

    AMC Networks promotes Elana Mandelup

    MUMBAI: AMC Networks has promoted Elana Mandelup to vice president, corporate communications. Based in New York, Mandelup will report to corporate communications senior VP Georgia Juvelis.

     

    Mandelup, who joined the company in 2011 as a director, oversees day-to-day business and trade media relations for SundanceTV in the US, in addition to all trade, business and consumer PR for AMC/Sundance Channel Global’s networks across Europe, Asia and Latin America.  In this role she partners with the Company’s executive teams on media coverage of their brand strategy, programming, marketing and sales initiatives.

     

    “Elana’s top notch media relations skills and strategic communications counsel and support have been invaluable as the company has grown its Sundance brands, domestically and around the world,” said Juvelis. “Her dedication and experience are a great asset as we position these businesses for continued expansion.”

     

    Mandelup has over 10 years experience working in entertainment publicity, production and development. She started her publicity career at ID Public Relations where she developed and implemented global public relations and awards campaigns on behalf of high profile clients. In addition, Mandelup has worked with Academy Award winning producer Anthony Katagas on various film projects and supported Law & Order: Criminal Intent executive producer John David Coles with script development, rights procurement and production. She also worked in the TV literature department at WME and was an NBC Page, working on Saturday Night Live, The Nightly News with Brian Williams and NBC Sports and Olympic Marketing.

     

    She earned a Masters in strategic communications from Columbia University and a Bachelors of Science from Rutgers University. She is a member of WICT, CTAM and ACC.

  • Jitesh Rajdeo quits Zee Media

    Jitesh Rajdeo quits Zee Media

    MUMBAI: After dedicating 14 years to the company, Zee Media chief sales officer Jitesh Rajdeo has decided to move on. He is currently serving his notice period and according to sources his next stop will be Amagi Media.

     

    Rajdeo took over the role of chief sales officer in February last year for the entire bouquet of Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee News UP, Zee News Punjabi and Zee 24 Ghanta. Prior to this, he was the chief revenue officer at DNA. 

     

    He has worked at various places including Mukta Advertising, Asian Age newspaper, Modi Entertainment Network and Multichannel India.

  • ETV Bangla inducts Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team

    ETV Bangla inducts Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team

    KOLKATA: ETV Bangla, a regional general entertainment channel (GEC) under the belt of Network18 has appointed Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team. Unadkat who has earlier worked as deputy vice president –advertising sales at Zee Entertainment Enterprise, has already taken up the new role at ETV Bangla from 15 May.

     

    While the Bengal GEC market is mainly dominated by Star Jalsha and Zee Bangla, ETV Bangla is now aiming to penetrate more households.  The channel is not only producing original content to increase viewership, but is also making managerial changes to ensure better output.

     

    Unadkat is not the first one to join ETV Bangla from Zee Bangla. It can be recalled that around three weeks ago, the channel had appointed Sujay Kutty as its business head, who had also worked with Zee Bangla as its executive – vice president, business head.

     

    When ETV Bangla officials were contacted, they confirmed the appointment of Unadkat but could not mention his exact designation.

     

    So is ETV Bangla becoming a threat to the GEC leaders in the state? Answers a city based media expert, “ETV Bangla is trying all the means to capture the market in Bengal. It has earmarked crore of rupees for creating original content under the band ‘Duranto Dupur’. Money brings more money. The investment by TV18 is big and it expects a bigger return too.”

     

    ETV Bangla’s programming roster comprises ‘Prathamar Rannaghar’, ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja Bangla’, ‘Ranga Mathaye Chiruni’, ‘Bigg Boss Bangla’ and Sadhok Bamakhyapa among others.

     

    “The channel is spending a lot on original content. Looking at huge revenues, new appointments are likely to play a crucial role,” concludes the ETV Bangla official.

  • RBNL appoints Ajit Singh as national sales head – SME

    RBNL appoints Ajit Singh as national sales head – SME

    MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network has appointed Ajit Singh as national sales head, SME. Singh will spearhead the sales function with SME clients across the radio and TV businesses.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network national business head – 92.7 Big FM Ashwin Padmanabhan said, “We are delighted to welcome Ajit into the RBNL family. Ajit brings to the organisation a keen sense of setting up and operationalising new businesses, we are confident that under Ajit’s leadership the SME vertical will flourish and grow.”

     

    Singh has over 11 years of work experience across sales, product development, compliance, new branch distribution management including break-even across the banking and insurance industry while working across different client segments.

     

    Singh said, “I believe the Media and Entertainment industry will grow at a good pace and there will be immense opportunities for learning and growth during my stint here. My agenda will be to build the company’s respectability and partnership with new and existing SME clients, while making the brand experience more enjoyable. I’m looking forward to carrying forward the fantastic work at Reliance Broadcast Network.”

  • Suhasini Haidar to join The Hindu as diplomatic editor

    Suhasini Haidar to join The Hindu as diplomatic editor

    MUMBAI: On Saturday, Suhasini Haidar tweeted saying that she will be joining The Hindu as its diplomatic editor.

     

    Indiantelevision.com broke the news of CNN-IBN deputy foreign affairs editor and prime time anchor deciding to quit from her current position.

     

    Haidar also tweeted that she hopes to keep doing World View, CNN-IBN’s international affairs show, too.

     

    Haidar began her career in 1995, with CNN International, working at the Delhi bureau that also covered Pakistan at the time (CNN subsequently opened its Islamabad bureau).Later on she moved to CNN-IBN. In her 20 years of journalism, Haider has covered issues concerning Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Lebanon and Libya. She regularly contributes as a columnist on Indian Foreign Policy for various newspapers.

     

    In 2010, she won the prestigious News Television “Best TV News Presenter” Award. Haidar is credited to be the only journalist to have interviewed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his family, a show that also won her the Indian Television Academy award as ‘Best Chat show’ for the year.

  • Suhasini Haidar quits CNN-IBN

    Suhasini Haidar quits CNN-IBN

    MUMBAI: CNN-IBN deputy foreign affairs editor and prime time anchor Suhasini Haidar has decided to quit from her current position. Sources from the channel suggest that Haidar, anchor for World View, CNN-IBN’s international affairs show, is likely to join the Hindu Group as she wants to go back to long-format journalism. However, she may also produce a show for CNN-IBN.

     

    Haidar began her career in 1995, with CNN International, working at the Delhi bureau that also covered Pakistan at the time (CNN subsequently opened its Islamabad bureau).Later on she moved to CNN-IBN. In her 18 years of journalism, Haider has covered issues concerning Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Lebanon and Libya. She regularly contributes as a columnist on Indian Foreign Policy for various newspapers.

     

    In 2010, she won the prestigious News Television “Best TV News Presenter” Award. Haidar is credited to be the only journalist to have interviewed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his family, a show that also won her the Indian Television Academy award as ‘Best Chat show’ for the year.

     

    CNN-IBN which laid off some of its employees in August last year also saw one its most prominent faces Karan Thapar move to Headlines Today in March. With Haidar now quitting, the channel will have to do much more to revive its prime time faces.

  • BBC World News’ editorial reshuffle

    BBC World News’ editorial reshuffle

    MUMBAI: BBC World News today announced two major changes. While Yalda Hakim joins as the new face of its news programme Impact, BBC World News lead anchor Jon Sopel will be moving stateside as he becomes BBC North America editor.

     

    Hakim had joined the international news channel in January 2013 as the lead reporter on the Our World current affairs strand. Her reports from conflict zones such as Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan have earned headlines around the world.

     

    She is known to have gained unprecedented access to Afghanistan’s Bagram jail just before 65 detainees controversially walked free and last October landed a scoop interview with President Hamid Karzai. She has interviewed survivors of the garment factory collapse in Bangladesh and investigated people-trafficking and torture in Yemen as well as America’s use of drones in the region.

     

    Born in Afghanistan, Hakim is an Australian. Among the many languages, she speaks Dari, Hindi and is learning Mandarin. And while looking forward to her new role, she is also keen to retain her ‘boots on the ground’ reputation. Hakim said, “I really believe the best way to tell a story is by being there and hearing from people first hand. I love being out in the field and I want to bring the Impact viewers with me. It’s a chance to show them more of the tales from behind the headlines. Plus I get to work with an absolutely fantastic team and help reinforce BBC World News’ position as the leader in global breaking news.”

     

    She added, “The timing of the show means we’ll be connecting with Asia and I am very excited to be given this opportunity to create an identity for Impact which excites this switched-on and news hungry audience. My background and experience mean I have a huge passion for stories coming out of this region and I am really looking forward to sharing this with our viewers around the globe.”

     

    Praising Hakim’s reporting, BBC World News head of news James Stephenson said, “I am delighted that Yalda has agreed to become the main presenter of Impact. She has made an enormous contribution to the channel since she joined last year with her investigative reporting from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and elsewhere. She will continue to combine that work in the field with her new role.”

     

    Meanwhile, BBC World News lead anchor Jon Sopel will be moving stateside as he becomes the BBC’s North American editor. While he will be stepping down as presenter of Global, viewers will still be able to see Sopel when he reports on America’s big stories for both the BBC domestic and international output.

     

    Thanking Sopel for his contribution to the channel Stephenson acknowledged the importance of the US market to BBC World News.

     

    He said, “Jon is an outstanding presenter and has played a major role in raising the profile of World News with his sharp journalism, tireless pursuit of big news-making interviews and evident sense of humour. He will be a big loss to Global, which he has presented since its launch. However, I am pleased that with World News now expanding rapidly in the US, Jon will continue to play an important part in the future success of the channel in a vitally important part of the world.”

     

    While looking forward to his new role Sopel said he was sad indeed to leave Global. He commented, “It is a huge honour to take on the role of North America editor. What is decided in Washington affects the whole world, and it will be a great challenge to report on the workings of the White House and Congress – and of course following the next presidential election. But it’s about bringing the whole of the US alive to our audience and I will relish travelling widely in this fascinating, complex and beautiful country. This was the only opportunity that could have pulled me away from presenting on BBC World News, of which I have nothing but fond memories.”

     

    World Service Group English controller Richard Porter said, “I’d like to thank Jon for playing such an important part in the re-launch of BBC World News from our new studios, and I’m delighted that he will continue his association with us in his new role in Washington. He and Yalda have been at the forefront of the changes which have been welcomed by viewers around the world. Yalda will be taking on a more prominent role as the main anchor of Impact, but she will still find time to continue her outstanding work as a film-maker and investigative journalist.”

  • Alok Agrawal steps down as Zee Media CEO

    Alok Agrawal steps down as Zee Media CEO

    MUMBAI: Zee Media CEO Alok Agrawal has decided to move on from his current role and is set to join Reliance Industries (RIL). However, he refused to comment on the new role he will be taking at RIL.

     

    Sources in the company say that the position of Zee Media CEO has been dissolved and now that all senior management will report directly to Zee News group CEO Bhaskar Das.

     

    Sharing his movement on Twitter, Agrawal said “Delighted to share my move to Team #RIL. Thank you Team @ZeeNews.” Recently, Sahara Samay group editor BV Rao also quit and joined RIL.

     

    Agrawal joined Zee News in 2012 after leaving Cheil India as its COO for south west Asia. Prior to that he was with Bates 141 and Grey Advertising.