GECs
Sony’s ‘Maharana Pratap’ completes 400 episodes
MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television’s (SET) historical show Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap recently completed a milestone of 400 episodes.
Contiloe Telefilms producer Abhimanyu Singh said, “Maharana Pratap is one of our landmark shows. Leap will showcase the siege of Chittor, which is a sad chapter in our history. However it reflects the true spirit of our freedom fighters who did not lose hope in such adversity and showed great courage and bravado. We are going to take the help of VFX to show this conflict and give it the required scale. We are introducing new and well known characters in the show. It will be interesting for the audience to watch another episode of history unfold.”
SET chief creative officer Ajay Bhalwankar added, “It is a really good feeling that our show completed a milestone of 400 episodes. It is a joyous moment for all of us associated with this show. We wish that the show completes many such episodes and keeps entertaining everyone.”
Actress Rachana Parulkar, who essays the role of Ajabde in the show, said, “I am overwhelmed with the response of the viewers’ towards the show. It is a moment of pride to see our show complete glories 400 episode. We promise to live up to the expectation of the audience by giving our best performance.”
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.
