GECs
ABC’s ‘Desperate Housewives’ draws bouquets, brickbats
MUMBAI: It may be turning into a much needed hit for Disney’s ABC in the US but the new show Desperate Housewives is not entirely having things its own way.
The show has been criticised by a leading conservative group for portraying motherhood as a “worthless chore.”
This has led to a few advertisers pulling the plug. Reports indicate that thousands of members of the American Family Association had flooded five of the primetime soap’s advertisers with e-mails and phone calls protesting their sponsorship of the show about despairing suburban housewives, say media reports.
As a result Kelloggs, meat processor Tyson Foods and home improvement chain Lowe’s have pulled ads of the show. A Tyson spokesperson was quoted in a statement saying: “The show is not consistent with our core values, which focus on operating with integrity and trust in all we do.”
ABC however is not too worried. Since its premiere last month it stormed the ratings and come in at number four in the US ratings, securing more than 22 million viewers. A 30-second television spot on the channel has roughly doubled to $300,000.
The show explores the secret lives of suburbanites from the vantage point of a housewife who just committed suicide. It is the highest-rated new series on American television this season. The show is number two in the 18 – 49 demographic. It stars Teri Hatcher who played the Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies, say the reports.
Channel 4 and sister channel E4 had secured the UK rights to the drama series earlier this year, after outbidding Five.
ABC meanwhile has given a vote of confidence to the show by ordering five more episodes of Desperate Housewives, a couple of days ago. The show marks the first prime-time drama hit for ABC since the action packed Alias in 2001. In India Alias airs on AXN.
Another report states that television drama executives have made a u-turn by adding a few more quirky female dramas to their lineup. Studios are taking a second glance at projects that were earlier rejected. The hope is to have some of the elements that is making Desperate Housewives a hit.
A similar thing happened after CBS’ CSI and Law & Order proved successful. Suddenly there was and still is interest in procedural dramas and law stories.
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
