News Broadcasting
NDTV stalwart Sonia Singh ends three-decade affair with Indian news giant
MUMBAI: In a bombshell announcement that’s sent shockwaves through India’s media landscape, NDTV’s editorial director Sonia Singh is to call it quits after a 32-year relationship with the broadcaster.
The network confirmed yesterday that Singh, a senior management heavyweight and one of the most recognisable faces in Indian television, has handed in her notice “due to future career plans.”
NDTV will bid farewell to Singh on 30 April, ending her three-decade stint at the network that began way back in September 1992 when India’s television landscape was still in nappies.
Singh, who sports an impressive CV featuring a Master’s in English Literature from the prestigious St Stephen’s College, where she topped her class and ranked second in Delhi University, has been no mere talking head during her lengthy tenure.
The brainy broadcaster also moonlit as a visiting fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School and sits on the Global Advisory Council of the World Woman Foundation.
Her academic credentials include scooping an Italian government scholarship to study at the University of Perugia and nabbing the UK’s coveted Chevening Scholarship for a journalism course at Cardiff University – proof that there’s more between her ears than perfectly coiffed hair and teleprompter skills.
As journalist Singh has grilled prime ministers and movie stars with equal aplomb.
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
