Sony Pictures Networks India appoints Rasesh Upadhyay as Deputy CFO

MUMBAI: In the business of content, the next big move is happening behind the balance sheet. Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has named media and telecom veteran Rasesh Upadhyay as its new Deputy Chief Financial Officer, strengthening its leadership bench at a time when the media industry is navigating rapid shifts in content consumption, distribution and profitability.

Upadhyay will join SPNI on June 22, 2026, and formally take charge as Deputy CFO on July 1, succeeding Pramod Nair, who is stepping down after a career spanning more than 25 years with the broadcaster.

The appointment brings to SPNI an executive with over two decades of experience across finance, strategy, business planning and organisational transformation. Most recently, Upadhyay served as Head of Strategy and Operations in the CEO’s Office at JioStar, where he worked on enterprise-wide strategic priorities, governance frameworks and integration initiatives.

His arrival comes as India’s media and entertainment sector enters a new phase marked by consolidation, streaming-led disruption and intensifying competition for audiences and advertising budgets.

Over the years, Upadhyay has held senior leadership roles at Star India, Etisalat DB and Bharti Airtel, building expertise across financial management, business performance and corporate strategy. His experience spans media, telecom, entertainment and sports businesses sectors that are increasingly overlapping as companies race to build scale and diversify revenue streams.

At SPNI, his mandate extends beyond traditional finance responsibilities. In addition to overseeing financial strategy, business planning and performance management, he will also lead the company’s commercial function, which will now report into the finance division. The move signals SPNI’s effort to bring commercial decision-making and financial performance under a more closely aligned structure.

The leadership transition also marks the end of a long chapter for Nair, who spent more than two decades helping shape the broadcaster’s financial operations through multiple phases of industry evolution.

As broadcasters grapple with changing viewer habits and the growing influence of digital platforms, financial agility has become as important as programming strategy. For SPNI, the appointment is not just about filling a senior finance role, it is about adding a strategist with experience navigating transformation at scale.

Because in today’s media business, the numbers behind the screen often matter just as much as the stories on it.