Mumbai: India TV has elevated Amit Sinha as president of strategy and research. He has been associated with the company since January 2021.
Sinha has 17 years of experience in providing insight-led (quantitative and qualitative) inputs that has informed brands, content, promo communications, marketing, scheduling, planning, off-air business and sales strategy.
Earlier, he has had stints at TV Today Network, SITV and Total TV. Sinha is an alumnus of MICA, Ahmedabad.
Mumbai: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zeel) has elevated Adil Memon as executive vice president of content and marketing. He updated his new role on LinkedIn.
Memon has been associated with the company for over 14 years. He was previously vice president of content and marketing and led the content and marketing verticals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He is responsible for developing strategic partnerships and creating new IPs in content and marketing. Memon pioneered localising Indian drama formats in the MENA region through co-production as Arabic originals.
He has expertise across media such as TV, print and digital.
Mumbai: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zeel) has elevated Kaushik Misra as head of non-fiction at Zee TV, the company’s Hindi general entertainment channel.
Misra has been associated with Zeel for over 12 years. Earlier, he was director of programming – non-fiction for Zee TV. He has expertise in public relations, brand management, digital marketing and content development.
Misra has played a key role in building iconic properties such as Dance India Dance and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. He has also been a part of Zee TV’s refresh campaign ‘Aaj Likhenge Kal’.
He is an alumnus of St. Xavier’s College and completed his MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.
Mumbai: TV9 Network is reviewing its company policy to extend its association with its group editor B V Rao. Rao’s contract with the news broadcasting network expires in July.
“We are reviewing our post-retirement employment engagement policies and are in discussion with Rao on the nature of his continuing association with the group,” said the company’s statement.
Rao is a veteran journalist with over 35 years of experience. Rao joined TV9 Network in December 2019. Earlier, he was associated with Network18 Group as editor of Firstpost.com. During his career, he has been associated with The Times Group, The Indian Express, Zee News and India Today Group, among others.
Rao began his career in 1989 at Mid-Day, Delhi. Afterwards, he joined Indian Express as news editor in 1991. He joined Free Press Journal in 1994 where he served as executive editor. Rao has also worked as a news and communication director at Reliance.
The company also announced that TV9 editor – convergence and strategy Deep Upadhyay will take charge of Hindi (TV9Hindi.com) and English (News9Live.com) websites, as TV9 editor – Hindi Shailesh Chaturvedi moves on.
Earlier, Upadhyay was associated with News24 where he had served as the managing editor. During his long career, he has worked with prominent media companies like India TV, Zee News and Dainik Bhaskar.
Mumbai: Zee Studios chief business officer Shariq Patel has stepped down ending his four-year association with the company.
A company spokesperson in a statement said, “We wish to confirm that Shariq Patel has resigned from the position of chief business officer, Zee Studios, to pursue his interests and passion outside the organization. Shariq has helmed the movies business successfully over the past few years and contributed immeasurably towards its growth. We wish him the very best for all future endeavours.”
Patel spearheaded the movie business of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) and was responsible for various aspects of the value chain including movie purchase/production as well as monetisation across all markets – domestic and international.
In a career spanning 26 years, Shariq has worked across industries in diverse sectors including financial services, radio, internet, telecom, sports management and film production.
Mumbai: According to a study by Muck Rack ‘The 2022 State of Journalism on Twitter,’ India TV editor-in-chief and chairman Rajat Sharma is the most followed verified journalist on Twitter following MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and CNN host Anderson Cooper.
India Today news anchor and journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, Washington Post columnist Barkha Dutt and Zee News editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary are also in the league for having huge followership on Twitter globally which includes Washington Post contributor Carlos Loret De Mola, freelance journalist Joaquín López Dóriga, The Guardian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano and owner Carmen Aristegui.
India’s freelance journalist and social media activist Sadiya Parveen took the number one spot for achieving the highest number of Twitter followers with a one year old account. She gained 15,367 followers closely followed by another Indian journalist Abdul Kalam who had 13,143 followers.
Muck Rack study includes only verified journalists within all rankings and roundups. The survey of 2,547 journalists between 4 January to 25 January found that 77 per cent of the respondents (journalists) value Twitter more than any other social media platform. About 39 per cent journalists said that they plan on spending more time on Twitter in 2022 than they did last year. Journalists also ranked Twitter as one of their top destinations for finding news, second only to online newspapers and magazines.
Muck Rack editorial director Andrew Mercier said, “And even amid controversies and potential acquisitions, it’s likely Twitter will remain a leading platform for the foreseeable future.”
The media outlets with the most collective followers were CNN, ESPN, The New York Times, MSNBC, The Washington Post, Fox News, NBC News, BBC, The Guardian and The Athletic. When it came to media outlets with the most journalists present on Twitter, the BBC led the pack with 1,783 journalists active on the social media platform. It was followed by Bloomberg News, The New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and ABC News (Australia).
The trends spotted in the report show that the average journalist covers four beats as compared to last year where they covered three beats. It also highlighted that most surveyed journalists create content in at least one medium in addition to their primary medium with digital having the highest share at 38 per cent followed by print at 25 per cent, newsletters at 17 per cent and podcast at 15 per cent. Of the journalists surveyed, fewer said that CEOs and company PR professionals are credible sources for reporting. However, more journalists found social media personalities (17 per cent vs 12 per cent last year) and celebrity spokespeople (14 per cent vs 12 per cent last year) more credible than they did last year.
According to the study, a third of journalists surveyed believed (32 per cent) that audience trust in their coverage has increased. Most importantly, most journalists turn to online newspapers (57 per cent) or Twitter (18 per cent) first for news. Majority of journalists surveyed (62 per cent) reported that they prefer Zoom for virtual events. And 46 per cent of journalists say that an event going virtual does not affect their likelihood of covering it.
Mumbai: IN10 Media Network has elevated Samar Khan as the CEO of its production house, Juggernaut Productions. Khan will continue to report to the network’s managing director Aditya Pittie.
Khan has been associated with the production house’s OTT division since 2019 and has played a vital role in steering it. As CEO, he will continue to manage his responsibilities of designing and successfully implementing business strategies in addition to creating world-class content.
“Samar is a valuable asset and I congratulate him on his well-deserved promotion. As we embark on an aggressive growth plan for our content studios business, we rely on his expertise to bolster them while staying true to our core vision,” said Pittie. “The entertainment industry is going through an exciting transition and we want to leverage the momentum.”
Under Khan, Juggernaut Productions has created popular shows and movies like The Married Woman, Code M season 1, Illegal season 2, “Raat Baaki Hai”, and many more for some of the leading OTT platforms in the country. The upcoming shows are Code M season 2 and Avrodh season 2. He has also produced Regiment Diaries seasons 1, 2, and 3 for the network’s flagship channel EPIC.
“I have been in the industry for more than 25 years and I’m blessed to be part of its evolution. I’m happy to drive the network’s OTT division’s growth story,” said Juggernaut Productions CEO Samar Khan.
Khan has a rich experience in writing, directing and producing high-quality and value-creating content for films, television, and OTT. In the past, he has been associated with companies like NDTV, Red Chillies Entertainment, UTV, and Discovery India among others.
In 2016, he wrote a book ‘SRK – 25 years of a Life’ capturing the 25-years-long journey of the actor Shah Rukh Khan.
Mumbai: Digital channel Zindagi which features popular Pakistani soap operas will now be available on DTH platform Dish TV, D2H and Tata Play as a value-added service. The service will be available starting on 23 May.
The channel launched in 2014, had gone off the air in July 2017 and its content was only available on the OTT service Zee5. Now, the shows Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain with Kirron Kher as the narrator, “Aunn Zara, Sadqay Tumhare” amongst others will be available to DTH subscribers. The channel’s launch is backed by an innovative content strategy of airing two episodes back-to-back.
Apart from fiction shows, the service will also showcase acclaimed movies like “Baarish aur Chowmein” featuring Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadh, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia; “Toba Tek Singh”, based on a short story by Saadat Hasan Manto, featuring noted actor Pankaj Kapoor and directed by Ketan Mehta; “Silvat” written by Faraz Arif Ansari and directed by Tanuja Chandra with Kartik Aaryan in a leading role; “Saari Raat” a film by National Award winner Aparna Sen starring Konkona Sen Sharma among others.
“It’s a proud moment for us as we reach yet another milestone and launch Zindagi across key DTH platforms,” said Zee Special Projects chief creative officer Shailja Kejriwal. “What started as a salient idea between a few people deeply invested in the belief of cross border cultural collaborations grew to become one of the most loved television channels in the country. Zindagi took its journey ahead on OTT fueling the digital consumption needs in the country, and the community of believers continued to grow. Today, we add new partners, new believers in Tata Play, Dish TV and D2H, as we take Zindagi to every corner of the country.”
“There’s a huge fan following for nuanced and author-backed storylines in our country,” said Tata Play chief content and commercial officer Pallavi Puri. “Tata Play Zindagi’s content library is very slice-of-life… they are humari zindagi se milti julti kahaniyan, which we believe will be a treat for the viewers who like relatable narratives.”
“We firmly believe that providing relatable, wholesome, unique, and relevant content is the most effective way to engage with our subscribers,” said Dish TV India Limited head – VAS Shruti Kumar.
“We are delighted to announce Zindagi Active as the latest addition to our comprehensive value-added service portfolio. With this, we offer our subscribers the stories that are emotional and enthralling, series & movies that resonate with them, their families, and relationships. We hope to bring together people/communities beyond our country’s border who share similar values, cultures, and traditions. Our Active Services brings the most appealing and relevant content to our subscribers, and the latest addition of the Zindagi Active service reaffirms our commitment towards them,” she added.
Mumbai: Rakesh Jha has joined Viacom18 as vice president-creative (sports business), Sports18. He announced his new role on LinkedIn.
“I am excited to share the news that I am starting my new inning with Viacom18. I look forward to extending the design innovation that I have been able to do at Star Sports during my nine years of engagement. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to thank everyone at Star Sports for the guidance and support they have provided throughout my journey at Star Sports,” he said.
Jha is a creative director with over two decades of experience leading diverse creative teams with a track record of delivering quality design while managing multiple projects. His expertise is in brand building, broadcast design, virtual, hard-set design and in-depth technical knowledge with a strong understanding of industry trends and creative tools as well as software.
Before joining Viacom18, Jha was associated with Star Sports for nine years where he led the design team responsible for cutting-edge design and innovations for marquee events such as IPL, Cricket World Cup, Pro Kabaddi League, Badminton League, Hockey India League to name a few. He also worked at CNBC TV18 for almost a decade and led the graphics team.
Mumbai: Nachiket Pantvaidya has resigned as group chief executive officer of Balaji Telefilms, the company notified in a regulatory filing. This was his second stint with the company.
He was appointed as group CEO in July 2021. Before rejoining Balaji Telefilms, Pantvaidya was the managing director at Asianet News Media and Entertainment. He was also the group chief operating officer at Balaji Telefilms and CEO of its streaming service Altbalaji.
Pantvaidya has over two decades of experience in the media and entertainment industry having worked in organisations such as Star, Sony, Disney and BBC.