GECs
Kairali TV targets August launch for 2nd channel
MUMBAI: Malayalam Communications Ltd (MCL), which owns the Malayalam satellite television channel Kairali TV, will launch its second television channel in August this year. The yet-to-be named channel has chosen 17 August as the tentative launch date.
After covering the general entertainment space with Kairali TV, MCL is launching an infotainment channel now. Confirming this to indiantelevision.com, Kairali TV MD & editor John Brittas said the programming would have a ratio of 60 per cent news and 40 per cent entertainment.
“The channel will have an emphasis on news and current affairs programmes. We will have a dedicated band for business news, which will cover areas ranging from agriculture to automobiles. Though we won’t be telecasting movies, we will have film-based programmes as part of our entertainment section,” says Brittas.
Brittas adds that, with the new channel, MCL hopes to tap the tremendous market potential for news programming in Kerala. The new channel will also have English news bulletins in its line-up.
MCL has roped in N P Chandrasekharan, who was earlier with Malayalam channels Asianet and Indiavision, as the executive editor of the new channel. According to Brittas, the new venture will initially make use of Kairali TV’s news division and will look for hiring more professionals in the next phase.
Malayalam television’s news channel space presently has two players: Indiavision, which is mainly funded by people from the Muslim community in Kerala and the Middle East and the Asianet Communications promoted Asianet News. While Indiavision is a dedicated news channel, Asianet News has entertainment programmes also in its line up.
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
