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Do-iT Talent Ventures signs badminton star Saina Nehwal
MUMBAI: Do-iT Talent Venture, the firm owned by Darshana Bhalla and Radha Kapoor Khanna, reinforces its sport portfolio with the 4th most famous global woman athlete Saina Nehwal.
Do-iT Venture has signed badminton player Saina Nehwal for the long term purpose for all her commercial and player endeavours which also includes sponsorships, endorsements, publishing, appearances, digital rights amongst others.
Nehwal is one of India’s top badminton players and earlier she was the flag bearer of the Indian badminton contingent for the longest time. Bronze in 2012 Olympics and Commonwealth gold in 2010 and 2018 are some of the highlights of her illustrious career. She is the only Indian woman to be ranked number one in the world. In 2016 she was awarded India’s third highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan.
Do-iT Talent Ventures (India) CEO and Founder Darshana Bhalla said, “Right at the advent of Do-iT Talent Ventures, we expressed that we believe in talent across various arenas and having Saina Nehwal as one of our lead talent illustrates our passion and enthusiasm towards Sports. Saina is a renowned champion and her dedication and commitment resonates ours, hence collectively we look forward to do some exemplary work. We believe in optimising our talent’s potential by putting together a robust strategy followed by an intently structured micro action plan”.
Nehwal added, “As an individual, I have always attempted to work with experts. I am sure that Do-iT Talent Ventures’ proficiency in understanding my sport and its potential influence will be highly impactful for me and my career. They hold high repute and have aligned work ethics with me. The team has immense experience in managing top talent across fields and I am excited about this association.”
In a short span of three months Do-iT Talent Ventures has signed a number of celebrities across entertainment and sports like Farhan Akhtar, John Abraham, Lara Dutta, Kajal Aggarwal, Neeraj Pandey Samir Kochhar and Vicky Ratnani in Culinary. In sports, they have Virender Sehwag, Mahesh Bhupathi, Geeta Phogat, Ashwini Ponnappa, Robin Singh, Viren Rasquinha and Aparna Popat.
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Network18 reshuffles editorial leadership across platforms
Expanded roles and new reporting lines aim to sharpen focus on growth across digital, social, CTV and linear TV.
MUMBAI: Network18 is giving its leadership structure a fresh edit because in the fast-changing world of media, even the newsroom needs a compelling new headline. The company has announced expanded roles for its editorial leadership across social, digital, connected TV (CTV) and linear platforms. In an internal communication, Rahul Joshi, MD & Group Editor-in-Chief, outlined new reporting structures designed to drive stronger coordination and growth.
Smriti Mehra, S Shivakumar and Mitul Sangani will now report directly to Joshi. Ganesh Iyer and Abhinay Chauhan will continue reporting to him as well.
Prabhat Chatterjee, Business Head of Forbes, and Arun Thapar, President of Content & Communication for AETN-18, will report to Smriti Mehra and lead revenue growth, marketing and product initiatives. Mallika Nath Handa will spearhead the development and scaling of special projects, including new shows and non-linear properties, and will also report to Mehra.
Jayesh Gokalgandhi, CFO for AETN18, will report to Ramesh Damani. Sidharth Newatia, CRO-ILC, will report to Mitul Sangani and focus on expanding reach and revenue across Hindi and regional language markets, with special emphasis on Tier-II and Tier-III regions. Pankaj Soni, Head of Marketing-ILC, will report to Mitul and work functionally with Ganesh Iyer.
The branded content business of Moneycontrol has been consolidated with News18 Studio. Don Zarrar will now collaborate with Shiv in the News18 Studio business while continuing to head his existing Studio/Focus teams at Moneycontrol.
Pranav Bakshi has taken on additional responsibility for the international business, alongside continuing to lead growth in Connected TV and social platforms. Naveen Mathur, who oversees Revenue Management for Network18’s international business, will report to Pranav, who continues to report to Puneet Singhvi.
Rajesh Sharma (Head of Broadcast Technology & IT), Rahul Singh (Head of Events & Technical Operations) and Bhupender Bhardwaj (Head of IT Security) will now report to Puneet Singhvi. Darshil Parekh, Head of Sales Strategy, Planning & Ops, will work directly with Ramesh Damani and Rahul Joshi, while Stanley Cyril, who manages Digital Sales Operations, will report to Darshil.
Jitamitra Mohanty, who leads the viewer and audience-focused Research & Analytics function, will now work with Santosh Menon to convert data on reach and engagement into actionable insights for content strategy, product innovation and sustained viewership growth.
In a media landscape where platforms multiply faster than breaking news, Network18’s latest reshuffle is clearly aimed at keeping its editorial and business engines firing in sync. Expect sharper storytelling, stronger revenue plays, and a more agile approach across every screen that matters.
