GECs
Politics interferes with entertainment, channel coerced into pulling out particular content
MUMBAI: The film wing of a regional political party claimed that it has ‘forced’ a TV channel not to telecast content which it felt was insulting Shivaji Maharaj.
MNS film wing’s Amey Khopkar told PTI that he wrote to the channel, warning them against telecasting the programme which showed Shivaji Maharaj dancing with Afzal Khan.
He said that the channel had informed them that they had decided not to telecast the portion which was scheduled to be aired on 27 February and 28.
This is not the first time that the outfit used coercion to get its demands met. In September, Khopkar had given a 48-hour deadline to Pakistani artistes to leave India. The diktat had come at a time when relations between India and Pakistan were tense, after an attack by terrorists in Uri (Kashmir).
The political organisation, in January last year, had threatened to disrupt a proposed concert by ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali if it were to be held in Mumbai.
In October 2015, the MNS had ‘disallowed’ the screening of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan’s film “Bin Roye” in Maharashtra while, in 2012, the party’s leader slammed singer Asha Bhosle for working with Pakistani singers on a TV show aired on a channel.
MNS Chitrapat Sena in 2016 protested against the Marathi dubbed version of “MS Dhoni: The Untold Story”, saying dubbed movies would eat into the business of Marathi films.
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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.
