News Broadcasting
Hallmark hopes seven will hit the spot in new programme initiative
Seven seems to be a number with Hallmark Entertainment Network in its efforts to have a more significant presence in India.
Towards the end of last year the channel introduced a new signature – “Celebrate Life” – which was one of several key components behind the rebranding of Hallmark that included new on-air graphics. At the time there was also the repackaging of core programming into seven new primetime branded blocks for “all members of the family to enjoy together.”
The effort has not really succeeded for the channel, which was launched in June 1999 in India. Hallmark is now launching seven new programmes from next month which it hopes will impact favourably on its viewership.
The programmes will be targeting children, youth and daytime television viewers. The highlight of the new programming initiative is the Indian premiere of the popular children’s series Sesame Street which will start showing from 1 May.
May is also Women’s Month on Hallmark, with a week of specially-scheduled movies starting from May 7 that climaxes with the premiere of Jackie, Ethel and Joan: Women of Camelot on May 13 and 14 – the dramatic story of the women behind the legendary Kennedy political dynasty.
The new initiative follows an eight-month research study which covered six countries that the channel conducted. Hallmark claims a viewership of over 7.5 million in India and is aiming to reach a 12.5 million audience.
Hallmark Channel is owned and operated by Crown Media International, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Crown Media Holdings, Inc. cases.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
