GECs
AOL may sell Comedy Central to Viacom
NEW YORK: AOL Time Warner Inc may sell its 50 per cent stake in cable network Comedy Central for about $1.2 billion to joint venture partner Viacom Inc, according to a Reuters report.
The deal could be announced early next week, when Viacom is scheduled to report its earnings. Comedy Central, which airs shows like bawdy, animated South Park and the nightly satirical newscast The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, has thrived financially for the competing media titans.
While neither company has commented on the deal, it is likely to be the first asset sale by AOL Time Warner as executives try to revive growth at the world’s largest media company and to restore investor credibility by cutting its approximate $29 billion in total debt, the report says.
As part of those efforts, the company had been exploring the sale of its stakes in Comedy Central and CourtTV, which it owns with Liberty Media Corp, its book publishing division, its three Atlanta sports teams and parts of its music business.
Comedy Central, which reaches 82 million US homes, was launched on April Fool’s Day 1991 after Home Box Office, owned by AOL Time Warner, merged its Comedy Channel with MTV Networks’ HA! comedy network, owned by Viacom. The network, one of the few examples of a successful media joint venture, has gained a reputation for continuing to push the limits of what can be broadcast on TV with sharp political satire and increasingly popular gross-out humour.
It has humorously covered political events and introduced original shows, such as “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and “Politically Incorrect,” each of which garnered Emmy Award nominations and eventually landed on other networks.
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.
