MUMBAI: The Indian media and entertainment business is experiencing something of a convulsion. At the heart of the storm sits television, a medium once considered impregnable, now rattled by both economic pressures and shifting consumption patterns. Senior and mid-level executives are walking out of plush offices at an unprecedented rate, turning resignation letters into the industry’s hottest commodity. The revolving doors at general entertainment channels, factual broadcasters and news networks have scarcely stopped spinning.
Take the case of Rahul Kanwal, who after more than 16 years of high-profile editorial leadership quit India Today TV to join NDTV, in a move that shocked newsroom insiders. Or Ajit Varghese, the revenue chief at JioStar, who traded the corporate heft of a giant for partnership status at Madison, Sam Balsara’s three-and-a-half-decade-old agency. Meanwhile, Ashish Sehgal, a towering presence at Zee Entertainment for two decades and long seen as a confidant of Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka bowed out just last week, a departure many in the industry still consider unimaginable.
The Indian entertainment industry has been undergoing a leadership shake-up, particularly at Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI). Veteran executive Neeraj Vyas exited after decades with the broadcaster to pursue entrepreneurial ambitions, signalling a personal pivot. Leena Lele Dutta, who oversaw the Kids and Animation business, is also stepping down, with Ambesh Tiwari set to replace her—a move that reflects SPNI’s portfolio restructuring. At the same time, the network bolstered its programming muscle by onboarding Nimisha Pandey as Programming Head at Sony SAB, underlining a renewed focus on fresh content creation.
At Zee Media, a similar churn has unfolded. Manish Kalra and Archana Anand departed from Zee5 amid the platform’s ongoing strategy reset, while Mona Jain, Chief Revenue Officer, stepped down in August, citing industry-wide advertising pressures. Leadership realignment continued with Karan Abhishek Singh taking over as CEO, succeeding Abhay Ojha. These shifts highlight both the turbulence caused by stalled merger talks and the urgent need for sharper digital and ad revenue strategies.
The news broadcasting sector has also witnessed high-profile exits. Avinash Pandey, CEO of ABP Network, resigned after more than two decades, stating personal reasons and the desire for a new professional chapter, with Sumanta Datta stepping in as his successor. MK Anand, CEO of Times Network, retired after leading the group through market headwinds, paving the way for Varun Kohli, who joined as COO to drive growth. Meanwhile, industry veteran Bobby Pawar shifted gears by joining News18 Studio as a creative consultant, reflecting the increasing importance of branded storytelling and creative content partnerships in newsrooms.
The exits stretch beyond individual cases. Varun Kohli, who lasted barely a year as chief executive of Times Now, is gone. Aditya Raj Kaul, a stalwart of TV9, has crossed over to NDTV. At Warner Bros Discovery, Uttam Pal Singh, who spearheaded kids’ programming, resigned suddenly earlier this year, followed by Azmat Jagmat, another senior name. And in a particularly symbolic shift, Sanjog Gupta, head of sports at JioStar, has left to take up what one insider calls “a less bruising role” at the International Cricket Conference.
What explains this exodus? A cocktail of pressures, say industry watchers. “Some of the folks are being let go on account of job redundancies,” observes one long-time media consultant. The wave of mergers and acquisitions JioStar’s consolidation, Zee’s attempted tie-ups, and the global reorganisations at Warner Bros Discovery has created overlapping functions. Where there are two people for one chair, one has to go.
But redundancies only partly explain the malaise. The sharper truth, argue observers, lies in economics. Television revenues are under siege. Ad growth has slowed dramatically, with TAM Media data showing a 10 per cent decline in the first half of the year. Broadcasters, desperate to offset the slide, are demanding steeper targets from revenue heads and programming chiefs. “The expectations are unreasonable,” says another insider. “Advertisers are spoiled for choice, streaming platforms are eating into budgets, and yet top managements are chasing revenue hikes that are simply not possible. The stress is unbearable.”
Increments, too, have dried up. Senior executives accustomed to annual rises and bonuses now find themselves fighting merely to hold ground. Worse still, broadcasters have been launching streaming services of their own almost all advertising-driven which has only spread resources thinner and pushed teams into even more brutal competition for a shrinking pool of ad dollars.
Not all departures are sackings; some are voluntary retreats. As one industry observer puts it: “Executives are not just quitting jobs, they’re choosing health over hypertension. The rat race is too costly.” Indeed, several departures from Sanjog Gupta’s exit to ICC, to executives slipping into agencies or advisory roles bear the hallmark of a search for relative calm.
Macro forces are compounding the gloom. With Russia’s war in Ukraine dragging on, Israel and Palestine locked in fresh conflict, and US president Donald Trump slapping stiff tariffs on Indian goods, global instability is feeding into local advertising budgets. Brands, particularly multinationals, are cautious, trimming campaigns and deferring big spends. “Belt-tightening will only intensify in the second half of the year,” warns a veteran media planner. “Blood baths are going to continue. Expect more resignations, more forced exits. The churn is far from over.”
For now, television in India is still a business of scale: hundreds of millions watch every day, advertising still contributes the lion’s share of broadcaster revenues, and regional channels continue to proliferate. But for the men and women running the show, the glamour has dimmed. The executive suite, once the ultimate perch, has become a revolving door. And the more it spins, the less likely it seems to stop anytime soon.
