ITV

Tag: Samir Mazgaonkar

  • Senior executives continue to exit B4U

    Senior executives continue to exit B4U

    MUMBAI: Back to square one? Just when it seemed like B4U television network is getting its act together, comes news about senior executives putting in their papers.

    Latest, B4U Television Network vice president Ravi Nair has ended his six-year stint with B4U. An old hat at B4U, Nair had put in his papers six months ago but on the company’s request continued to overlook the Indian operations. With the appointment of Sunil Rohra as the global chief executive officer, Nair finally decided to move on to pursue other goals.

    Associate vice president and sales head Samir Mazgaonkar has also quit. He has joined MTV Networks kids channel Nick as national ad sales head. “I was looking for new challenges. With competition heating up in the kids’ channel arena, it seemed like a good time to join Nick,” he says.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Nair explains, “I have a six-year bond with B4U network. I had put in my papers about six months ago, but on request waited till Rohra was made global CEO. I am getting into a software venture.”

    B4U has had a mass exodus since the exit of Ravi Gupta early last year. Among others who left the company are chief distribution officer Debashish Dey, marketing head Rajnish Lall, B4U music head Kalyan Sunderam and programming chief Yugander V V.

    With Rohra taking charge as global CEO, B4U’s Indian operations is set to have a new team.

  • B4U UK, Europe head Sunil Rohra becomes Global CEO

    B4U UK, Europe head Sunil Rohra becomes Global CEO

    MUMBAI: B4U Group will now have a global chief executive officer, a position that was left vacant after the exit of Ravi Gupta for over a year.

    B4U UK and Europe CEO Sunil Rohra has been given the additional responsiblity as the global head of B4U and, thus, will be directly overseeing the company’s Indian operations.

    B4U Television Network’s India operations head Ravi Nair will be reporting to Rohra.

    With appointment of a global CEO, the energy now would be focused on synergies between the Indian and UK operations, as well as the overall objective of capitalising on worldwide operations, say company sources.

    Despite being Bollywood music and movie specialist channel, B4U saw mediocre response from Indian audience. Even the problems that the channel faced because of its distribution set up took a heavy toll on the channel share.

    B4U was poised for a fresh start with a new team put up this May. The core team comprised associate vice president and sales head Samir Mazgaonkar, marketing and PR head Melissa Machado Bhalla and programming and production head, for both India and overseas beams, Khalid Sayed.

    “The management of B4U in India was in a mess. Nobody had a clue how important was the Indian operations to the Group. Now we will at least have some clarity on what the strategy is for India,” said a source.

    Taking charge as the Global CEO Rohra commented, “It is a big responsibility and I am looking forward to meeting the challenges that lie ahead. I am confident that I will be able to fulfill the expectations of the shareholders and the Board.”

    “It is my aim to make B4U Network synonymous with Bollywood, such that if anybody wants to know anything about Bollywood, then they’ll know that B4U Network needs to be on their agenda,” added Rohra.

    Former CEO of Zee TV UK, Rohra took over the reins at B4U on 2 August 2004. His appointment came almost in tandem with B4U’s senior vice-president business development Neeraj Arora defecting to rival Sony Entertainment Television Asia (SET Asia) as vice-president for international business.

    Rohra had been with Zee TV in the UK for 10 years and had been the CEO of Zee UK for the last two and half years. Rohra is reported to have turned Zee into a very profitable company and established Zee as the market leader in the Asian market.

  • B4U Music poised for a fresh start with new team in place

    B4U Music poised for a fresh start with new team in place

    MUMBAI: Brand new beginning!

    What with a completes management shift, B4U Music seems to be geared to start afresh. The new young and talented team has reportedly begun the task of bringing fresh perspective and energy to the channel.

    The core team, at B4U Music, now comprises associate vice president and sales head Samir Mazgaonkar, marketing and PR head Melissa Machado Bhalla and the newest addition to the company- programming and production head, for both India and overseas beams, Khalid Sayed.

    While the team should be ready to talk about the new programming agenda in some time, next on the programming list is telecast of the event War Of The DJ’s .

    Looking at the new wave of remixes and originals by a new generation of DJs, War Of The DJ’s is a platform established to showcase their talent.

    B4U Music will be capturing the excitement and bringing it to the channel on a later date.

    The grand finale to be hosted by B4U’s own VJ’s – Keith and Gauhar.

    That apart, the results for the B4U’s VJ hunt Race 4 The Face are out. B4U network has announced Amandeep Kaur and Gurmej Pawar as the two winners of the presenter search. The new faces will be struting their stuff alongside the B4U veterans like Keith, Isshita and Gauhar

  • B4U appoints Samir Mazgaonkar head of sales

    B4U appoints Samir Mazgaonkar head of sales

    MUMBAI: B4U has appointed Samir Mazgaonkar as the new head of sales at B4U India. Taking on the role with immediate effect, Mazgaonkar will be responsible for leading and implementing the sales strategies and operations for B4U India sales portfolio.
     

    Prior to his current assignment at B4U, Mazgaokar has been working with ESPN Star, says a company release. His portfolio also includes a stint with Turner International, where he worked on channels like Cartoon Network and HBO.

    Besides the change in the positions at sales operation, the channel has been in the process of introducing various new programming ideas on-air and a host of off-air activities.

    According to Mazgaonkar, “I look forward to this assignment as an opportunity to bring to B4U a whole new approach in terms of sales strategy and execution, which would be in tune with the market expectations from the brand. I have had the good fortune to work with some of the best media brands and teams in the business, and I intend to bring all those learnings to this assignment to create a difference.”

    Says B4U vice president Ravi Nair, “Mazgaonkar brings a wealth of industry experience to B4U, which will prove invaluable. He is an experienced individual who understands the business and the people, and I am pleased to welcome Mazgaonkar as the head of the all-India sales team at B4U.”