GECs
Discovery US creates a travel division
MUMBAI: Discovery in the US has created a new integrated travel media business called Discovery Travel Media. This new department will include the Travel Channel, online assets including www.travelchannel.com, the recently announced broadband offering, Travel Channel Beyond as well as Video-on-Demand (VOD) and mobile platforms.
Discovery Travel Media is the company’s first business unit that combines all of the company’s assets related to a single category into a vertically integrated organisational structure.
Discovery US president and CEO Judith McHale says, “Discovery Travel Media will better target audiences who are spending more and more time online. This segment is growing rapidly, and is currently underserved. Research shows Discovery and its related assets outpace other media brands for trusted travel information, and Discovery Travel Media is well positioned to provide travelers with the information and services they want and need.
“Unlike other media companies that have created separate digital divisions, Discovery Travel Media will allow for more integration, flexibility and innovation from combining our existing businesses with new multiplatform opportunities in the travel space.”
Pat Younge, who is currently Travel Channel executive VP and GM will become full business manager for Discovery Travel Media.
Younge says, “The Travel Channel is now in more than 84 million US cable homes, so to be able to systematically leverage our unequalled travel video archive across a range of high growth media platforms affords us the opportunity to further build brand awareness and develop new revenue drivers.
“In the coming months we will be aggressively exploring partnerships with a range of major travel-service aggregators, as well as acquisitions of aligned businesses, as we build out the assets of Discovery Travel Media.”
The Travel Channel claims to target people who want to experience their world, immerse themselves in new cultures and escape from the day-to-day grind of everyday life.
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.
