News Broadcasting
9X Media restructures key positions in ad sales team
Mumbai: 9X Media has restructured its ad sales team to optimise the sales resources and implement effective sales processes in every targeted customer segment. As a part of this development, Ajay Bedi, Darpan Kindalkar and Anusri Unnikrishnan have been elevated to National Sales Head of 9X Jalwa, 9X Tashan and 9X Jhakaas, respectively.
While Ajay will report to Nihal Ghosh, Darpan & Anusri would report to Deepali Oroskar. The flagship Channel 9XM will be managed directly by Nihal.
Commenting on the development, 9X Media chief business officer Punit Pandey said. “The entertainment industry, especially the music industry in India, is going through an exciting transition. The past two years have been difficult for a majority of people. In these difficult times, the music stood out as a companion. Music helped people to de-stress. Hence the consumption of music has increased. Being India’s largest music television broadcaster, we want to leverage this momentum. The restructuring of the ad sales team will take the network towards the next phase of success and achievements.”
Commenting on the elevation, 9X Jalwa national sales head Ajay Bedi said, “I feel humbled by the faith put in me to lead the All India Sales for 9X Jalwa. The markets are opening up post-Covid and so is Jalwa evolving into a force to reckon with in the Hindi music genre. My priority would be to make brands across India aware of the scope, content creation and integration opportunities which 9X Jalwa presents and the programming initiatives which are being undertaken to be at par with the top channels in the music genre.”
9X Jhakaas national sales head Anusri Unnikrishnan said, “I’m really excited to head ad sales nationally for 9X Jhakaas – India’s first Marathi music channel. Planning a post covid roadmap for 9X Jhakaas’ accelerated growth will be critical. FICCI KPMG says regional languages will make up 60 per cent of television consumption in 2025 from around 55 per cent in 2020. Regional Brands in India are driving the Bharat (Non-Metro) Consumption with a strong market share in tier two and tier three cities. 9X Jhakaas has a strong following with a young, affluent rural population along with urban audiences ensuring it will play a key role for advertisers who want to target Maharashtra which has India’s highest GDP by state and also the most urbanized.”
9X Tashan national sales head Darpan Kindalkar commented, “Regional markets about TV advertising have gone through a dynamic change over the last few years. Punjabi Music consumption is more devoted as compared to how music is consumed in other parts of our country. Since its inception, 9X Tashan continues to command that number one position in consumers’ hearts and grow that faithful tribe week on week. It has also opened up new advertising avenues for the brands over the years. I’m glad to be part of such a great heritage. Priority is to first take the revenues to pre-pandemic levels, along with opening other avenues for the brands through content creation, on-ground events, integrations, etc.”
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
