Subhajit Sengupta returns to Times Network as vice president for social media and video monetisation

Round trip, bigger brief. Subhajit Sengupta is back at Times Network, and this time he arrives as vice president and head of social media and video monetisation, based in Noida. “Glad to be back,” he says in announcing the move, which began in September 2026.

The hire matters because of what he has done in between. From June 2024 to August 2026, Sengupta was head of video and social media at HT Digital Streams, where he ran the video business and its revenue through programmatic and IP-led monetisation. He led cross-platform content growth, which lifted brand impact and audience retention across Hindustan Times, Mint, Hindustan and other group platforms. He also pushed an AI-first transformation, embedding generative AI tools in editorial workflows. His cross-functional team of more than 80 people spanned social, editorial and video revenue. His mandate also covered YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and connected TV, along with emerging formats.

Times Network knows what he can do. Sengupta first joined in November 2021 as group lead, digital videos and social media, and was promoted in October 2023 to associate vice president, digital video strategy. In that role he headed digital video across Times Now, ET Now, ET Now Swadesh, Times Now Navbharat, Mirror Now, TN World, Sports Now and TN+, leading a team of content creators, optimisers and growth hackers. Video revenue grew threefold on his watch. He also ran social media strategy and operations across YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and LinkedIn, and led the network’s #AIInNewsroom effort to bring AI-led solutions into newsroom workflows. That stint lasted two years and eight months.

The pattern is clear. Sengupta pairs editorial depth with monetisation logic and platform intelligence, a combination still rare in Indian news. Publishers everywhere are trying to turn views into revenue, and few leaders have run both the content and the commercial side at scale.

His background explains the mix. Sengupta has more than 18 years of experience, from frontline journalism to digital leadership. His conflict reporting won the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism. He began as a freelancer with Sakaal Media Group in Pune (2006 to 2008). He then spent eight years and nine months at CNN-IBN, rising from associate editor (2008 to 2010) to special correspondent (2010 to 2015) and bureau chief for the north-east in Guwahati (2015 to 2017). He went on to become Delhi bureau chief at CNN-News18 (2017 to 2018), editor of special projects at news18.com (2018 to 2020) and deputy group head, digital videos, at Network18 Media & Investments Limited (2020 to 2021).

With social platforms now central to how India consumes news, the appointment signals Times Network’s intent to treat video and social as a core revenue engine. For Sengupta, it is a homecoming with a bigger remit.