News Broadcasting
Telemart-2004 will spark new ideas: Ronnie Screwvala
MUMBAI: “Telemart isn’t like any other conference. The focus here is on actual trade and not just company plugs. In fact, the two-hour conference held every day, before the actual trade opens, will instead deal with the industry and community issues.”
UTV promoter and CII Telemart’s event chairperson Ronnie Screwvala opines about the first-ever International Content Marketplace – Telemart 2004.
First ever such conference to be held in India, Telemart is touted as Mipcom of India. To be held in Mumbai on 16 – 17 September at the Grand Hyatt, the event is meant specifically for Indian and neighbouring markets and is designed to help media businesses capitalise on the growing opportunities by offering a platform to network and trade in content for the Indian market.
Media companies like broadcaster Sony, production major UTV, television glossie GR8 and indiantelevision.com are the main partners for the event.
“Whenever we (Indian producers) went abroad, it has always been an individual effort. And hence we were always a small fry. But with Telemart being an annual event, one can hope that trading of software — content or animation or technology — in India would be much organised,” Screwvala says.
With technology coming of age, what with Indian media upbeat about the technologies like DTH, Pay TV, and broadband, the conference comes at a good time.
According to Screwvala, CII expects about 200-250 focused participants for the inaugural edition, 35 of them are expected to be serious international players.
“With format shows, soaps adapted being the current flavour of the season on Indian television, it can be anticipated that international payers- both big and small will be keen,” says Screwvala.
Although he does not expect either bidding or actual trade to take place, Screwvala expects that Telemart 2004 will be a platform for broadcasters, TV content makers, distributors, distribution to interact and initiate businesses. “If on-the-spot trading happens, then that would be quite a success, but we are ideally targeting the same for the second or the third edition,” he says.
Speaking about his role as the event chairperson, Screwvala says, “I am looking at it to be an annual affair with good participation from both the regional as well as small players. Even for the seminar, I am looking at the talks sparking new thoughts.”
Although he is upbeat about the animation industry’s participation, he opines that it will have more to do with showcasing the talent and use of technology rather than creative portfolio’s. “There is hardly any original content churned out of India. But so is the case with the UK, France and Canada. Churning of original content requires government support as it is not a cheap proposition,” he adds.
For further details about Telemart, contact Gayatri Gulati at CII office— 24931790. Or visit Telemart website www.telemart.tv.
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.
