News Broadcasting
Universal Music India signs top 11 contestants from ‘Indian Idol juniors’
MUMBAI: Leading label Universal Music India has signed the top eleven contestants from the popular `Idol’ television property Indian Idol Junior that just completed its debut season. Emerging as a powerhouse of explosive talent, the Top 11 Indian Idol Juniors were chosen from millions of aspirants across India. The nation was taken by storm by the young musical wonders, who continued to keep the audiences in awe week after week with their prodigious flair.
A well established brand already, it is the first year that the `Idol’ propertyintroduced a `junior’ season. The junior edition of the show proved to be a huge success as is evident from the impressive young talent that emerged out of which 11 proved to shine far brighter than the rest. Universal Music offers the contestants a 360 contract wherein the young artists’ assignments will be exclusively managed by the leading record label.
Speaking on the occasion, Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director, Universal Music India & South Asia, said, “Our association with `Idol’ both globally & here has been very successful as we saw with II6 where we were able to take the recorded music piece & the Live piece & make it into a sustainable business. The Indian Idol 6 kids performed some 60 shows in over ten countries over 11 months. Now our endeavor with the Indian Idol Junior kids will exactly be the same, only with the added advantage of having a wider audience to reach out to. Our partnership with future thinking companies like Fremantle will allow us to do just that. The talent has been outstanding and it’s my firm belief that the Indian Idol Juniors today are tomorrow’s stars.”
The talent on Indian Idol junior has been of an exceptional level. We are pleased to announce our association with Universal Music to build this talent into young legends.” added Anupama Mandloi, Managing Director, Fremantlemedia India.
Along with the winner Anjana Padmanabhan, the musical sensations who created waves are Nirvesh Dave, Debanjana Karmakar, Anmol Jaswal, Sugandha Date, Sonakshi Kar, Priyam Borpatragohain, Akash Sharma, Sankalp Yaduwanshi,Eman Chaudhary and Aryan Das along with the winner Anjana Padmanabhan, all of whom set the stage ablaze with their fiery talent
Universal Music has signed on these young superstars for a holistic 360 degree contract wherein all aspects including `live’ show, endorsements, music albums etc. will be solely managed by the label.
For more enquires on shows, contact smiran.bansal@umusic.com.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
