ITV

Category: People

  • ZEE appoints Gaurav Kanwal as chief revenue officer, digital and SMB

    ZEE appoints Gaurav Kanwal as chief revenue officer, digital and SMB

    Mumbai: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has appointed Gaurav Kanwal as chief revenue officer, digital and small and medium businesses (SMB), South Asia.

    Kanwal was last associated with Disney+ Hotstar as executive vice president, ad sales for two and a half years. He was at the helm of identifying new avenues to drive revenue in a profit and loss management capacity for the company.

    Kanwar commands over 17 years of multi-industry and multi-channel experience in sales, marketing, online business as a strategist and manager. He specialises in distribution channels, marketing strategy, sales processes, SMB & mid-market, GTM plan, management, emerging markets, P&L ownership, people management.

    Prior to Disney+ Hotstar, Kanwal has had stints with Adobe as head of SMB and channel sales (South Asia), Symantec Corporation as country sales manager for India and SAARC, International SOS Services as marketing and communications manager for India, Corning International, and Feedback Ventures.

  • Times Network rejigs top leadership, elevates Rahul Shivshankar to editorial director

    Times Network rejigs top leadership, elevates Rahul Shivshankar to editorial director

    Mumbai: The Times Network on Tuesday announced key appointments and elevations in its leadership team. On the editorial front, Rahul Shivshankar has been elevated to editorial director. In addition to the new role, he will continue to lead the editorial mandate of Times Now as its editor-in-chief.

    The announcement comes at a time when the broadcast network is gearing up for the launch of its Hindi news channels, Times Now Navbharat HD and ET Now Swadesh. On Monday, the company named Times Network group editor Navika Kumar as the editor-in-chief of the new channel.

    Times Network, MD and CEO, MK Anand said, “2020 was a tumultuous year for the broadcasters and while we were severely tested by the pandemic, Times Network not just managed to harness every headwind in its path but continued to march ahead successfully by setting new industry benchmarks. The superior talent of our leadership team is one of key pillars that drove the network’s significant growth during these unprecedented times and accelerated our overall digital transformation efforts. Their elevations are a recognition of their contribution to the growth of the company.”

    Strengthening its digital portfolio, the company has elevated Vivek Srivastava to president, strategy & operations – Broadcast & Digital. He will lead the digital operations of the network and oversee product strategy, audience development and operations planning for both digital and broadcast businesses.

    Savvy Dilip has been appointed as executive vice president & head- digital growth. Savvy will lead product development, content led audience growth, technology based digital consumer experiences, social media amplification and online marketing for all the digital platforms of the Network. A seasoned professional, Savvy brings in-depth expertise across Marketing, Media, Product, Technology and Entrepreneurship. In her new role, Savvy will be reporting to Vivek Srivastava.

    Other senior management promotions include Manish Wadkar, senior vice president & head – Legal, Pranav Bakshi, senior vice president – digital, Hina Jafri, vice president & head – Corporate Communications, Poonam Bavdanker, vice president – Human Resources, Saurabh Bhowal, vice president & head – content and programming, Zoom & The Zoom Studios and Mihir Bhatt, vice president & executive editor, Times Influence.

    Continuing to play a pivotal role in aiding the Network’s growth, leadership team comprising Jagdish Mulchandani – chief operating Officer and executive president, Jignesh Kenia, executive vice president & head – corporate strategy & digital transformation, Gaurav Dhawan, executive vice president – revenue and S. Srivathsan as executive vice president and Head – human resources will drive their respective portfolios for the Network.

  • Balaji Telefilms onboards Nachiket Pantvaidya as group CEO

    Balaji Telefilms onboards Nachiket Pantvaidya as group CEO

    Mumbai: Balaji Telefilms on Tuesday announced the appointment of Nachiket Pantvaidya as the group chief executive officer. He will be responsible for the overall growth and success of the group’s profit and loss of operations.

    Pantvaidya moves on from Asianet News Media & Entertainment, where he was the managing director. This would be Pantvaidya’s second stint with Balaji Telefilms post his brief exit in March. Before Asianet, he held the position of Balaji Telefilms’ group COO and ALTBalaji CEO.

    Commenting on the development, Balaji Telefilms’ MD, Shobha Kapoor stated, “We have an excellent camaraderie with Nachiket, and we welcome him back into the family. His proven track record of groundbreaking work is sure to continue in his second stint with us as well. I wish him all the best for this new beginning.”

    Balaji Telefilms’ joint MD, Ekta Kapoor added, “Nachiket is an experienced professional and I look forward to once again teaming up with him and doing stellar work. On the growth of the overall Group.”

    Pantvaidya said, “It’s a homecoming for me with Ekta and team, however with a larger mandate now. I am looking forward to planning a roadmap for further accelerated growth of Balaji Telefilms group.”

    Pantvaidya comes with a rich experience of over 20 years of experience in the mass and urban mass media business. His portfolio includes huge brands like Star, Sony, Disney, and BBC, to new a few. 

  • Network18 appoints Vijay Sanil as CEO – language cluster, TV news

    Network18 appoints Vijay Sanil as CEO – language cluster, TV news

    MUMBAI: Media conglomerate Network18 on Wednesday announced the appointment of Vijay Sanil as CEO – language cluster. With over two decades of experience in the Media and Entertainment industry, Sanil joins News18 Network at a time when regional news is ever-growing and has made massive contributions to the network’s strength. News18 Network’s language cluster includes News18 Bangla, News18 Tamil, News18 Odia, News18 Kerala, News18 Kannada, News18 Assam & NE, News18 Lokmat and News18 Gujarati.

    Sanil joined ZEEL as a Management Trainee in the year 2000 and grew through the ranks in the organization. In his journey of over 20 years at ZEEL, Sanil handled various Channels like Zee TV, Zee Cinema, & TV, & Pictures, Ten Sports, Zee Anmol, Regional Channels and HD portfolio among others. In his last role with Zee, Sanil was designated as President – Sales and was responsible for driving a significant piece of the ZEEL ad revenues.

    Talking about his appointment, Sanil said, “Having been a passionate Sales Lead in Entertainment, Cinema & Sports genre, this opportunity opens a completely new chapter – News genre & a holistic perspective of Business. Truly  excited to lead News18’s regional news mandate to build an aggressive growth plan for the company in this rapidly evolving ecosystem and also, be part of a process of building a future-ready News network by creating new and sustainable connect nodes with audience & business fraternity”.

    Sanil holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Chetna College, Mumbai. He will be based in Mumbai and report to Network18 Broadcast News CEO Avinash Kaul. Karan Abhishek Singh, who was earlier the CEO for language cluster has already taken over charge of the Hindi news cluster. 

  • Anuraag Srivastava appointed as CEO of Rainshine Entertainment, India

    Anuraag Srivastava appointed as CEO of Rainshine Entertainment, India

    New Delhi:  Rainshine Global, a US-based diversified media and entertainment company on Thursday announced the elevation of Anuraag Srivastava as the CEO of Rainshine Entertainment, India to drive its ambitious growth in the country. In addition, the company is expanding its content offerings globally and formally launching a new subsidiary – Rainshine Media Fintech.

    Rainshine Global will expand its global footprint by focusing on creating shows and films based on Indian and global themes for audiences outside India. It has already established teams and partnerships in the US, and the UK to curate content on universally relatable ideas and topics to attract viewers globally.

    Rainshine Entertainment (India) will leverage the escalating adoption of digital content in the country. Through strategic collaborations, acquisitions, and syndication it will introduce fresh content and expand its offerings to a larger audience. It will create a wide spectrum of short-form and long-form audio & video content ranging from podcasts, scripted series, feature films, and documentaries.

    Hasmukh on Netflix, Humble Politician Nograj on Amazon Prime Video, Men Without Music – an audio crime series on Audible, HoopNation – a docu-series on YouTube, Chattis aur Maina on Disney+ Hotstar, and the National Award-winning short documentary Amoli are part of the concepts and formats that the company has brought out. Rainshine’s owned and partner content studios like CM Studios, FirstAction, Manzar Studios, Rainbox Studios, Weirdass Comedy, and Indian operations of Rainshine Animation, will now be managed under this entity.      

    Rainshine Media Fintech, the new subsidiary will focus on developing a variety of financing options ranging from media credit and digital tokens created on Rainshine’s proprietary Blockchain platform. With a streamlined structuring, the company will delve and accelerate growth by diversifying and innovating in newer avenues as a pioneer in the media and entertainment industry. 

    Sharing his thoughts, Rainshine Global, chairman and CEO, Neeraj Bhargava said, “Our business in India is growing at a rapid pace. We have been successful in creating and exploring interesting formats. We are constantly trying to innovate and come up with fresh and unique ideas for feature films, shows in the digital & TV format, and podcasts. Anuraag has led this admirably and integrated our partner companies into a comprehensive offering. We have very high expectations of growth here and I am excited to have him take the lead for our business in India.”

    He further added that the company is also preparing for expansion in other areas, particularly global content and media financing.

    Talking about his new role, Srivastava said, “I am truly excited to be a part of Rainshine Entertainment (India)’s next chapter and thank Neeraj and the Rainshine Board for their confidence in me. We are growing rapidly, adding new capabilities, and as an industry are still in the early phase of growth in India. I am committed to building a company with a stellar team. Our focus will be on developing a reputation for great content and building our profile as an industry leader.”

  • Zee Media appoints Abhishek Nigam as chief operating officer for digital business

    Zee Media appoints Abhishek Nigam as chief operating officer for digital business

    Mumbai: Zee Media has announced the appointment of Abhishek Nigam as its chief operating officer for the digital business. He was previously associated with Airtel as product head for its B2C platform.

    Nigam will be responsible for the entire digital operations that include 20 brands across 12 languages touching more than 300 million viewers across digital replicas of Zee Media’s 14 linear news channels along with websites such as  India.com, BGR.in, BollywoodLife.com, TheHealthsite.com, and CricketCountry.com, the company said in a statement.

    Commenting on the appointment, Zee group chief strategy and innovation officer Bibek Agarwala said, “Irrespective of the prevailing challenges, Zee Digital has reported exponential growth within last few years through strategic communications and technological advancements. With extensive experience and knowledge in the technology, product, and sales domain, Abhishek Nigam will definitely add value to the company’s vision and the overall implementation and development trajectory.”

    “Moving ahead, we are looking forward to an aggressive growth roadmap that will help achieve a differentiated and sustainable competitive positioning for Zee Media’s digital assets in this dynamically changing digital ecosystem”, he added.

    Commenting on his new role, Nigam shared, “I am delighted to join hands with India’s most diversified digital publishing group. It would be an honour to work with the highly knowledgeable leadership. My endeavour would be to help Zee Media scale new heights across the globe by aligning all the Digital assets and bringing in synergies through strategic measures and latest technological innovations.”

    As a seasoned professional with 15 years of experience, Nigam has worked with Times Internet and Jagran Group across product leadership roles. He also holds expertise in handling the vernacular language market. An IIT-Delhi alumnus, Nigam holds a B. Tech and M. Tech degree. His educational qualification also includes a senior management program from IIM, Calcutta, and AI professional program from Stanford University.

  • Hansa Research announces Ashish Karnad as EVP and head-media and digital business

    Hansa Research announces Ashish Karnad as EVP and head-media and digital business

    Mumbai: Hansa Research on Monday announced the appointment of Ashish Karnad as executive vice president and head -media and digital business. In his most recent role at Nielsen Media, he was in charge of IRS, the print currency in India.

    Karnad brings over 25 years of experience in media research. His key expertise lies in Media and ROI measurement.

    Speaking on the appointment, Karnad said, “It’s a great feeling to be joining the Hansa Research Group. The Indian media and digital scenario is an ever-evolving phenomenon and hence there is a constant need for newer information and better usability of research insights. This asks for a different perspective and a fresh approach when it comes to research processes and that is precisely what I have been mandated to do while I try to build a profitable media and digital business at the Hansa Research Group. I’m really excited and looking forward to this opportunity.”

    In the past, Karnad also worked with Kantar India (both IMRB and Millward Brown). Some of his key achievements at Kantar have been launching India’s first meter-based TV measurement system (TAM) and then extending the same to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

  • Nippon TV elevates Yoshikuni Sugiyama as new president

    New Delhi: Nippon TV, Japan’s leading multiplatform entertainment powerhouse has elevated its representative director and operating officer Yoshikuni Sugiyama to the role of president and senior executive operating officer.

    He replaces Yoshinobu Kosugi who will be taking the new position of vice chairman and senior executive operating officer of Nippon TV. “President Sugiyama will report to vice chairman and senior executive operating officer Yoshinobu Kosugi and chairman and CEO Yoshio Okubo,” it said in a statement.

    Having had significant growth in its international business, Keiichi Sawa, currently operating officer responsible for Nippon TV’s Global Business Development, which includes International Business Development (IBD), has been promoted to Board Director and operating officer for that division. 

    Board Director Sawa will be responsible for Business Development and Real Estate. He will report to President Sugiyama.

    Nippon TV’s recent scripted format Mother was recently ranked #1 in the Top 10 Traveling Asian Scripted Formats, and Nippon TV also ranked for the first time in the Top Exporter of Asian Unscripted Formats 2020-2021, achieving the third position. The global sales of Mute it!, Sokkuri Sweets, BLOCK OUT, Pharaoh!, Old Enough! and other unscripted formats led to this position, as per the data provided by K7 Media in May 2021.

  • Senior journalist Udayan Mukherjee joins India Today

    New Delhi: The India Today Group is set to bolster its coverage of business news with a new show hosted by noted journalist Udayan Mukherjee. Mukherjee returns to the newsroom after a long hiatus. His comeback comes at a time when the world explores new ways of doing business in the post-pandemic economic order, said the company on Monday.

    “Udayan brings with him a sharp insight into the future of business. As we grapple with the normal, new normal and abnormal we need his talent and a much-needed global perspective on helping us cope with the post-pandemic economy,” said India Today Group vice-chairperson, Kalli Purie. “His grasp of financial markets, innovation-driven businesses, fintechs, and micro- and macro-economic trends will cater to the growing appetite among the young generation of professionals, entrepreneurs, and startups for a clearer understanding of the new order of things. The India Today Group is delighted to have him on board as the host of our new Business Today show.”      

    The India Today Group would also be leveraging Mukherjee’s considerable experience to enhance its business offerings across print, television, and digital platforms.

    “I am delighted to be part of the India Today family. Having always admired the extensive and enormous reach of brands such as India Today, Business Today and TV Today, I am really looking forward to the opportunity of reaching out to their audiences and engaging with them,” said Mukherjee. “The whole world of business has been turned on its head. Business is not going to be the same again after the pandemic. And everybody — from business leaders to policy-makers — has to look at the world through a very different lens. It would be a great opportunity to engage with the business world once again but from a different perspective, through a different lens.”

     Mukherjee started his career before the turn of the millennium, just as the Indian television scene was beginning to take off. As a lead anchor on CNBC and later its managing editor, he played a pioneering role in creating the cult of stock markets in particular and business coverage in general in broadcasting.

    Mukherjee was honoured with the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for Journalist of the Year in 2012, following which he stepped down from his active daily role at the helm of the channel. Since then, he remained a much-followed commentator on business affairs and a columnist for national newspapers. He even authored three works of fiction.

  • Viacom18 ropes in Vivek Mohan Sharma to head branded content

    New Delhi: Viacom18 on Thursday announced the appointment of Vivek Mohan Sharma as head of Branded Content. He will be reporting to head- Network Sales, Mahesh Shetty.

    In his new role, Sharma will be responsible for leading branded content and solutions at the network level. Individually, he will be responsible for driving branded solutions for Viacom18’s Hindi Mass Entertainment, Regional Entertainment, and Kids TV clusters leveraging its broadcast and social reach. In addition to this, he will also work with existing teams at Youth, Music, and English Entertainment as well as the network’s digital play Voot to bring in synergies and dial-up advertiser-funded content-driven growth.

    Viacom18 Network sales head, Mahesh Shetty said: “We are living in a world full of too many choices which however have increasingly minimal differentiation amongst them. Branded content has the potential to bring forth this differentiation and connect with audiences in a more engaging and emotional capacity. With his versatile experience in leadership roles across industries, Vivek is best poised to bring collaborations across our brand offerings and create unique propositions for our clients that are relevant and result-oriented.”

    On his new role, Sharma said, “Brands today are looking at creating moments and mindshare that stays with the audience for long. Branded content acts as the bridge, bringing in solutions that truly connect the brand with its consumers engagingly and effectively. I look forward to driving value, innovation, and overall growth in my new role at Viacom18.”

    Sharma has close to two decades of experience in Business Management, Revenue, and Marketing across Media, Telecom and Banking sectors, and has held leadership roles at Mirchi, Idea Cellular, Deutsche Bank, and ICICI Bank in the past. Prior to joining Viacom18, he worked as head- Digital Business and worked towards transforming Mirchi into a dominant digital content and solutions brand.