ITV

Tag: R Mahesh Kumar

  • Kevin Vaz retained as IBDF president, Avinash Pandey to be secretary general

    Kevin Vaz retained as IBDF president, Avinash Pandey to be secretary general

    MUMBAI: The Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF) has sent out a clear signal at its 26th Annual General Meeting in New Delhi: television remains the beating heart of India’s entertainment story.

    A significant leadership transition was announced at the AGM. Media veteran Avinash Pandey will assume the role of secretary general from October 1, 2025, succeeding Siddharth Jain, whose tenure concluded on September 30. Members expressed gratitude to Jain for his contributions and warmly welcomed Pandey. Reflecting on his appointment, Pandey said, “I am honoured to take on this role at such a pivotal time. My focus will be on engaging with government, navigating the evolving regulatory landscape, and strengthening IBDF’s role as the industry’s unified voice.”  

    Chairing the AGM in his inaugural address as president, Jiostar India CEO – entertainment Kevin Vaz underscored the enduring power of linear TV. He pointed out that 97 per cent of India’s original content in 2024, nearly 200,000 hours, was created for television, which continues to engage audiences at scale with roughly 46 trillion minutes of annual viewing across 190 million screens. He described TV as the “bedrock of content creation and brand building in India,” highlighting its unmatched reach and cultural resonance through the family co-viewing experience. Vaz added that advertising revenues are set to climb, with the festive season offering an immediate boost and the government’s recent GST reforms providing a strong foundation for long-term growth. “Television’s next chapter is one of evolution, leveraging reach and trust, amplified by digital,” he said, affirming IBDF’s commitment to advocate for a forward-looking regulatory framework.

    The AGM also featured board elections, where Gaurav Banerjee of Culver Max and R. Mahesh Kumar of Sun Network were re-elected, while Anil Kumar Singhvi of Zee Media joined as a new board member. The Office Bearers were re-elected for the new term, with Vaz as president, Rajat Sharma of India TV, Banerjee, and Kumar as vice presidents, and I. Venkat of Eenadu TV continuing as treasurer. The Board also includes Aroon Purie of TV Today Network, Gaurav Dwivedi of Prasar Bharati, Jayant Mathew of MMTV, and Punit Goenka of Zee Entertainment, while Sumanta Bose of Jiostar, John Brittas of Kairali TV, and Nachiket Pantvaidya of Culver Max were co-opted as members.

    The AGM was also attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, including secretary Sanjay Jaju and additional secretary Prabhat, who joined industry leaders at a special luncheon hosted by IBDF, enabling constructive dialogue between broadcasters and policymakers.

  • Sun TV Network focusing on achieving pre-NTO viewership in every single market

    Sun TV Network focusing on achieving pre-NTO viewership in every single market

    MUMBAI: While new tariff order (NTO) had brought down viewership of several pay channels initially across the country, Sun TV Network channels are bouncing back from the initial effect in key markets. As the channels are coming close to the pre-NTO regime viewership, the largest broadcaster is now focusing on every single market to get back to the reach percentage it was providing prior to the NTO implementation.

    “We are making all efforts in terms of ensuring that the channels are carried by all DTH and cable operators and it is placed in the appropriate MCM so it is accessible to a majority of the subscriber universe. So, that is why you are also seeing a good improvement in the rating numbers,” Sun TV Network CEO R Mahesh Kumar commented in an earnings call after its Q1 results.

    Kumar also added while inquired about a-la-carte adoption that very few subscribers have opted for a-la-carte. He noted that the majority of service providers and the customers have opted for the entire bouquet of channels. Notably, many broadcasters and DPOs have highlighted this trend of subscribers going for bundled packages after NTO implementation rather than selecting individual channels.

    While the group also has a large DTH business, Kumar is optimistic about the growth rate of DTH. He added that he witnessed a huge growth in private MSOs in the marketplace at a time when churn is happening from state-run Arasu Cable to other operators. Moreover, there is a significant portion of analogue which is also incrementally getting digitised.

    “In our estimate, upwards of 35 per cent is still analogue in this market. And in terms of seeding of STBs, it's being pushed both by private cable operators and DTH. Like even our own group company, Sun Direct has been extremely well in Tamil Nadu. Their numbers have grown from an average of 1,000, 2,000 to 5,000, and 6,000 a day,” Sun TV Network group CFO SL Narayanan commented.

    He also added that everything is happening across the system in Tamil Nadu based on NTO only. According to him, the only issue has been the difficulty of getting the reports from some of the smaller players because of their own inability to have new programs. He added that it's only a transitional phase and there would be lesser problems once things get streamlined and good software is available. While he added that most of them are adapting it also, the reporting levels have increased considerably in June or July.

  • Sun Direct CEO R. Mahesh Kumar appointed as Sun TV Network President

    Sun Direct CEO R. Mahesh Kumar appointed as Sun TV Network President

    MUMBAI: The Kalanithi Maran-promoted Sun TV Network has appointed R. Mahesh Kumar, who has been Sun Direct CEO since 2011, as its president. The company made this announcement in a communication to the Bombay stock exchange a short while ago. 

     

    The appointment is being done to strengthen the management of the company, which runs India’s most watched channel, Sun TV and becomes effective from 1 November, 2015.

     

    Unconfirmed reports were that Sun Direct senior vice president – corporate affairs Swaminathan is slated to be elevated to head the DTH operation. 

     

    The 46 year old, R. Mahesh Kumar, is a Chartered Accountant with over 23 years experience out of which more than 15 years has been with the media industry. He started his career with Citibank and had also served KPMG and American Express in earlier years.

     

    His last position was was with the Rajan Raheja Group where he was the president and CEO of Asianet Satellite Communications Ltd before joining the Sun Group. He also held the position of managing director of Sun Direct.