MAM
Leading broadcasters to gain as advertisers rejig spends: Vaz
MUMBAI: Leading broadcasters will continue to post strong ad revenue growth while the long tail will be severely hurt as advertisers tend to consolidate their spends in a cautionary environment, said Star India president ad sales Kevin Vaz in an interview with Indiantelevision.com.
The television sector will see a 13-15 per cent growth in ad revenue this fiscal while print will be pushed back in a slowing economy.
“The ad market is not as buoyant as it was in January. We will not see a 20-25 per cent growth as was forecasted earlier. But the leaders in any genre will benefit as advertising monies get rejigged. The long tail will not find support from advertisers,” said Vaz.
Star India, which has leader channels in most genres, has done more annual and network deals this year. “Our top 10 clients, for instance, have done deals stretching from a minimum of 12 months to 36 months. We will beat the trend and grow much faster than the industry. Being in leadership position has helped stitch long term deals,” averred Vaz.
In an earlier interview, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd executive director revenue and niche channels Joy Chakraborthy had stated that advertisers were looking at shorter term and quarterly deals.
The Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) genre, pegged at Rs 37-40 billion, will grow at 12-15 per cent this year. “Cricket is hit in a big way. GECs are on an upswing even as ad monies are moving away from cricket,” stated Vaz.
The Hindi movie channel genre is set to grow at 15-20 per cent. “Star Gold will capitalise heavily as the channel is performing very well. We have cut the ad inventory time by 33 per cent to give it a Hindi GEC environment and ramped up our investment on movie acquisitions,” said Vaz.
The news genre will continue to struggle this year. “With the resurgence of GECs, the news genre has stagnated for the last few years,” Vaz said.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
