News Broadcasting
Aaj Tak expands to UK with Sony’s Max bouquet
MUMBAI: TV Today Network has launched its flagship 24-hour Hindi news channel Aaj Tak in UK. This will be available as part of Max Mix bouquet along with ARY Digital, Pakistan’s leading entertainment channel.
The Max Mix bouquet consists of Max, Sahara One, and Filmy channels.
TV Today Network CEO and executive director G Krishnan said, “Over the last two years, we have been eyeing opportunities in markets with a sizeable Indian Diaspora. After US, the Middle East and continental Europe, UK is the next logical step for us. Launching Aaj Tak on the Max Mix platform will offer the viewers with live news and analysis from home right into their living room. We are delighted to be a part of the bouquet, which has popular channels representing a wide array of programming.”
TV Today chairman and managing director Aroon Purie said, “Aaj Tak has been able to successfully widen the viewership base for news in India. Combined with our launch in the US and continental Europe, this step will further widen the base for Indian news internationally.”
Sony Entertainment Television (SET) executive vice-president for international business Rajan Singh said, “We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing Aaj Tak and ARY Digital into the Max Mix bouquet. These fantastic channels represent a huge addition to Max Mix further enhancing its position as the leading provider of quality Asian entertainment across programming genres. Aaj Tak is India’s leading news channel whilst ARY Digital perfectly compliments Max Mix’s commitment to quality entertainment, choice and value. We look forward to bringing our viewers even more quality channels in the near future.”
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
