GECs
Colors to launch ‘Bigg Boss Halla Bol’ series
MUMBAI: After engaging viewers for 15 weeks, Bigg Boss season eight is ready to take the quotient of entertainment a notch higher. Come 4 January, it is set to launch Bigg Boss Halla Bol which will not only include the five champions, but also open doors to five challengers namely Rahul Mahajan, Sambhavna Seth, Ajaz Khan, Mahek Chahal and one more from the previous Bigg Boss seasons.
As the new leg of the game kicks-off, the series will welcome Bigg Boss enthusiast Farah Khan as the host of the show. Following a successful association, the channel has roped in Snapdeal.com as the presenting sponsor for Bigg Boss Halla Bol. It will air everyday at 9pm on the channel.
According to Colors CEO Raj Nayak, be it in terms of ratings or in terms of entertainment, season eight has lived up to its promise of having a mast safar with zabardast twists.
“This New Year we bring the Bigg Boss buffs another engrossing series packed with newer twists and interesting characters. This show is our New Year gift to all our Bigg Boss fans. Further, we are happy to announce that we have roped in Snapdeal.com as the presenting sponsor for Bigg Boss Halla Bol following the stupendous response that both – the show and the brand – have received for the eighth season of the show.”
Confirming her participation, Farah Khan said: “I have loved watching Bigg Boss and enjoy everything about it. The series is unlike anything that regular viewers of the show could have ever perceived. Salman Khan has been truly entertaining as a host with his affable style and quick wit. I am looking forward to building a unique experience for the viewers through this venture and hope they enjoy every bit of it.”
The special series will have a mix of 10 enigmatic contestants and will bring entertainment to the forefront as competitiveness reaches an all-time high which will make their stay in the Bigg Boss house tougher than ever before. The champions and challengers will engage in a battle of sorts as they strive to stay inside the house and move closer to the grand finale where a contestant from either party could claim the spot of the winner of the show. The effervescent Farah Khan will be the guiding light for the champions and challengers while questioning their actions and decisions as the show races to the end.
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.
