News Broadcasting
S1 to launch two channels, ropes in Ambikanand Sahay as head of editorial and news operations
MUMBAI: The Senior Group Companies, which runs a Delhi centric news and current affairs channel S1, has roped in former Sahara Media and Entertainment senior vice president and senior print journalist, Ambikanand Sahay, as head of editorial and news operations.
The Group, which is primarily into real estate business, is planning to launch a national general news and a music channel. The music channel has been christened as S1 Tadka and is set for launch in December. The news channel, to be launched in mid-2006, will be called S1 National.
The Group is planning an ambitious investment of Rs 1.10 billion for the two channels. Says Senior Group chairman Vijay Dixit, “We are planning a bouquet of channels. We are looking at investing approximately Rs 110 crore for these two channels.”
The Senior Group of Companies has inducted Sahay to beef up its existing news channel and future news operations. During his tenure at Sahara, he was responsible for the launch of the NCR and many other regional- centric channels including Sahara Uttaranchal, Sahara Bihar and Sahara Madhya Pradesh. The music channel will be headed Joy Sebastien, who was earlier associated with Jain TV.
According to Delhi cable operators, S1 is facing distribution problems. But Dixit disagrees and claims to have 83.5 per cent connectivity across the national capital region (NCR) region. “We are happy with the distribution of the channel and our own team is handling it. We have no plans to outsource distribution,” he says.
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.
