News Broadcasting
Network18 appoints Maruti Indoria as business head for CricketNext
MUMBAI: Network18, India’s most diversified media conglomerate today announced the appointment of Maruti Indoria as Business Head for CricketNext. CricketNext is one of Indian sub-continent’s most read and followed cricket website. A dynamic website, which offers its viewers live ball-by-ball coverage of all international matches and news ranging from match reports to inside scoops on cricket stars and the functioning of cricket associations across the globe, CricketNext is every cricket lover’s one-stop destination. Anil Kumble is the brand ambassador for the site.
With over fifteen years of experience across Ad Sales, Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing, Maruti joins Network18 from SonyLIV Sports. He was heading monetization for SonyLIV Sports, where he was responsible for driving revenues from marquee properties like FIFA World Cup, multiple India Cricket series, and other premium sports like MotoGP, NBA, WWE etc. Before SonyLIV, he has worked with Times Internet, DB Digital, Sify Technologies and Business Standard in revenue roles. Along the way he also had his own start-up in Social Media Marketing.
Maruti is a post-graduate in Marketing from Mumbai University. He will be based in Network18’s office in Mumbai and report to Puneet Singhvi, Head – Network18 Digital.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
