GECs
Max gears up for the cricket World Cup
MUMBAI: With seven weeks to go before the biggest sports event of the year the cricket World Cup kicks off Max is gearing up to create buzz around the event.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Max business head Sneha Rajani says that Extraaa Innings the wrap around show kicks off at 5 pm on each match day. Since matches get over in the wee hours of the morning the pre show will start with a review of the previous match with the expert panel.
It will then go on to previewing the upcoming match. This time around some matches will also air on the English movie channel Pix in case Max and Sab cannot accomodate them. Besides the first couple of Extraaa Innings Charu Sharma and Mandira Bedi the channel has commentators like Geoffrey Boycott, former Indian cricket coach John Wright who will provide an insider’s touch, Barry Richards and Ian Chappell. Max is also in the process of finding someone to send to the West Indies to join its commentary team with its Host Ka Dost hunt.
Max has kicked off promotional activity for the World Cup with an on air campaign. The message is that one world will be converging in the West Indies to watch the event.
The campaign is feel good and light in the spirit of the Caribbean which is known for its relaxed, fun atmosphere. From Friday a series of countdown spots will air to build anticipation. Rajani adds that no cricketers have been used. There will be calypso music to give viewers a feel of the upcoming event.
On the ground the channel will conduct a roadshow next month. A van will visit 150 cities in a bid to get fans to express their support for the boys in blue. The winning placard will be sent to the Indian team. Rajani conceedes that the fact that matches finish late might impact viewing particularly for the non India games. The hope is that the matches will be involving enough so that viewers do not mind going to bed late even if the likes of Saurav and Sachin are not involved.
The World Cup will be used to push Indian Idol 3 which is expected to kick off sometime in the May – June period on Sony. It will also push Max’s blockbusters which will kick off from May. Key shows on Sony and Sab will also be pushed.
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.
