GECs
KBC says au revoir
It rewrote Indian TV rules, catapulted Star to the number one slot before losing steam and dwindling down to a mere two nights a week show.
Kaun Banega Crorepati will now take a breather from January 2002. 1 January, to be precise, will be the last we see of Amitabh Bachchan and the now famous line Lock kiya jaaye? till Star decides to revive the show. According to official estimates, the series can afford a respite at this juncture – it has had a run of 300 episodes, nearly 3000 contestants, over 500 on the hot seat, more than 60,000 studio audiences, over 90 million phone calls and more than Rs 260 million given away as prize money.
A temporary respite, in fact, is the international norm. Even the original Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? takes a break after running for six weeks. In India, it was the immense popularity that sustained the show for such a long run.
The channel has promised to bring the show back around July 2002, and is also scheduled to launch a slew of new programmes, beginning January. KBC, points out Star, brought glamour into Indian homes – with film stars Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, television stars from hit serials and cricketers too.
Says Star executive VP Sameer Nair: “We’ve enjoyed every moment of the show, shooting with Amitabh Bachchan, guests stars, interacting with audiences, and basking in the unprecedented success of the show. Every, such show needs a small break and now it’s time for Kaun Banega Crorepati too. Come, July-August, and watch out… we’ll be back with Amitabh Bachchan and a big, brighter and bigger show.”
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.
