News Broadcasting
Darren Childs is BBC MD global TV channels
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has appointed Darren Childs as the MD of BBC’s global TV channels.
He is currently Sony Pictures Television International senior VP. He takes up his post at the BBC later this year. He will lead the further expansion of the international channels business of BBC Worldwide. The channels business has been identified as one of the key areas for growth by the BBC Worldwide Board. Childs reports to BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith.
The position was newly created as a result of the restructuring of BBC Worldwide into six divisions – TV Channels, TV Sales, Magazines, Children’s, Home Entertainment and New Media.Smith said, “It is fantastic for us that Darren joins BBC Worldwide at a really exciting time. His experience and insight will help to maximise the potential of the expertise in our channels teams and of our strong brand image worldwide, and we look forward to seeing expansion in the business over the coming year.”
Childs said, “This is a great opportunity to be involved in the expansion of BBC Worldwide’s network of channels as well as the continued success of the existing portfolio of wholly owned and JV channels. I am delighted to be joining a team that has already achieved such considerable successes around the world, and to also work closely with the BBC’s JV partners. With such a strong brand, together with some of the best content available, the business is well positioned for continued growth in the global marketplace.”
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.
