News Broadcasting
Network18 enhances duties in it’s top leadership
Mumbai: Continuing its vision of building converged ‘One Network18’, Network18 has announced appointments and enhanced duties in its top leadership. The strategic move aims to establish an integrated broadcast and digital ecosystem, driving growth and innovation across all brands within the network.
As part of this development, Network18 has enhanced roles of key executives to within the organization. Shivakumar has been appointed as the president of News18 Studios. He will be responsible for leading the converged business mode. His role will encompass all business clusters and brands, with a focus on creating a truly pan-India appeal.
Hindi News Cluster CEO Karan Abhishek Singh, will also have an expanded role, taking charge of revenue, ratings, and reputation for the cluster. With a focus on brand growth across channels and platforms, Karan will drive cross-functional collaboration between editorial, product, technology, and other departments.
English News Cluster CEO Smriti Mehra, is a distinguished brand leader for CNBC-TV18, CNN-News18, CNBC-TV18.com, and News18 digital (English). In her expanded role, she will oversee revenue, ratings (audience growth), and the reputation of the portfolio. Smriti will drive brand growth across channels and platforms through cross-functional coordination, bridging editorial, product, technology, and other functions.
Regional news cluster CEO Mitil Sangani, a proven leader in Network18’s digital business, will now be responsible for revenue, ratings, and reputation for all regional television news channels and digital properties. Apart from this, he will also drive Local18, Network18’s fast-growing hyper-local brand.
Government sales executive VP Abhinay Chauhan, will continue to strengthen Network18’s relationships with state governments and PSU bodies, while identifying new business opportunities in this vertical.
Firstpost COO Ruchir Khanna, has been appointed to develop the product and website with a unique brand proposition, setting it apart from other players in the genre.
Forbes India (Print + Digital) COO Preeti Sahni, will continue to lead of international sales for the network while extending her responsibilities to lead the Forbes brand across multiple platforms.
Pranav Bakshi has joined Network18 as head of partnerships, focusing on creating new opportunities for audience growth and monetization across platforms. He will also work on revenue maximization by leveraging the network’s extensive video content repository.
This leadership team will report to Avinash Kaul and Puneet Singhvi, the co-owners of ‘One Network18.’ Together, they will drive Network18’s vision to become a truly integrated media ecosystem, ensuring continued growth, innovation, and audience engagement.
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
