MAM
Kristen Finney becomes Disney International’s EVP content curation
Mumbai: Media conglomerate Walt Disney has announced the appointment of Kristen Finney as Disney International executive VP content curation. Prior to this, she was executive VP distribution, content distribution strategy and development at Disney Media and Entertainment which operates Disney+.
Finney will manage the international content strategy across India, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and will be responsible for overseeing the creation of original programming for Disney+ and Star+, along with linear channels. She will report directly to International Content and Operations chairman Rebecca Campbell.
The division is a centralised hub for international content acquisition information, cross-regional licensing opportunities, content slates and pipelines.
Speaking on the elevation, Finney said, “I am excited to join the new international content and operations organisation and to have the opportunity to work closely with Rebecca and this team of internationally respected content creators. The regional teams in IC&O are building a truly impressive slate of engaging and entertaining content, and I look forward to driving strategic opportunities as we aggressively expand these local offerings around the globe.”
Campbell said, “Kristen has a proven track record of delivering successful content strategies. This expertise, combined with her skillful ability to build and lead innovative teams, makes her the perfect candidate for this important new role. Her extensive and diverse experience will make her a vital part of our IC&O leadership team.”
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
