Karan Mahajan promoted to director of ad sales at FanCode

MUMBAI: Karan Mahajan has had a good innings, and he has just been promoted. In October 2026 the media sales veteran became director of ad sales at FanCode, the sports streaming platform, after two years and eight months at the company. What began as a love for cricket and tennis has grown into a career across the sports ecosystem, from Formula 1 and football to golf and more. His mission is plain: take niche sport to market and make advertisers care.

Mahajan has more than 15 years in media sales, with stints at the Times of India, Ananda Bazar Patrika, The Hindu Group and Moneycontrol. At FanCode he brings that experience to a sports streaming platform and works to scale ad revenue in an evolving digital media landscape. His expertise lies in crafting innovative sales strategies that deliver measurable impact across print, digital, events and activations, and branded content. He now focuses on the niche yet dynamic world of sports media, building strategic brand partnerships that fit FanCode’s exclusive content, from Formula 1 to cricket and other international and grassroots-level sports.

The promotion follows a steady climb. He joined FanCode in Mumbai as west lead in March 2024 and moved up to director of ad sales in October 2026. Before that, from May 2022 to March 2024, he was senior manager at Moneycontrol, part of Network18 Media & Investments Limited. There he oversaw the display and video business, integrations and events, and cultivated the banking and insurance categories to drive revenue. His work earned him the Spotlight Recognition Award for the second and third quarters of FY 22-23.

The longest chapter came at The Hindu, where he spent six years and three months. He started as assistant manager of ad sales for print and events and activations in March 2016, handling corporate retail, lifestyle and textile brands such as Reliance Retail, Croma, Platinum Guild and Raymonds. As assistant manager from April 2018 he nurtured fast-moving consumer goods clients including P&G, Parle, HUL, J&J, Colgate, Mondelez and ITC Personal Care, and worked on campaigns such as Cadbury Sweet Kondattam, Parle Platina Festive Delights and Gillette Vetri Nichyam.

Promotion to deputy manager followed in April 2019. He closed brand solutions deals with Gillette Vetri Nichyam (second season), Colgate Vedshakti Vaai Sutham Endral Neengalum Healthy and Johnson & Johnson Gentle Sparsh. He was also recognised as the top contributor nationwide for securing sponsorships for the Hindu Business Line Agri Summit in Delhi, an event aimed at doubling farm income. From April 2020 to May 2022 he served as city vertical head of ad sales, covering digital, print, and events and activations. He moved quickly to digital platforms during the pandemic and oversaw major digital clients such as APV, Netflix, ICICI Group and SBI.

Earlier, at Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd. (Times Group), from November 2014 to February 2016, he sold across print, digital, TV, radio, out-of-home and events. His portfolio included the Times of India, Economic Times, Mirror, Maharashtra Times, Navbharat Times, Vijaya Karnataka, Sandhya Times and Ei Samay, with banking, financial services and insurance clients such as SBI, Kotak Bank, BOB, BOI and MCX. He won the Response Idol award for a landmark Rs 6 crore sponsorship with State Bank of India on the TOI sports page Action Today. At ABP and The Telegraph, from March 2013 to November 2014, he managed accounts including LIC, SBI, L’Oreal, Tata Motors and Fiat across print, digital and radio.

His career began at TimesJobs, where he was account manager from April 2011 to February 2013. He hit sales targets in every quarter listed, won the national-level Champions League recognition programme in four quarters and took Reward and Recognition honours for highest cash realisation. Before that came a summer internship at UB Group in May and June 2010, with a market analysis of DSP Black.

That mix matters. Few sales leaders have worked across newspapers, business media, recruitment and live sport. Each stop sharpened a different skill: key account acquisition and retention, event sales, brand solutions and branded content. India’s sporting appetite is widening beyond cricket, and advertisers need someone who can show them where the audience is. In Mahajan, FanCode has a seller who can do just that.

Mahajan has called his journey rewarding and thanked the leadership and partners who have been part of it. Outside work he is invested in fitness and wellness, which he says fuels his focus, resilience and energy. For Indian sport beyond the boundary, his promotion is welcome news.