GECs
SRK to replace Big B as host of KBC
MUMBAI: Talk about making a big play. Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Star India’s talismanic gameshow, will be back early next year with Bollywood’s biggest superstar Shah Rukh Khan replacing Hindi cinema icon Amitabh Bachchan as host.
Star is pitching the third season of the hit show as a “Gen Next avatar” to “reach out to an India where two thirds of the population is below 35”.
The contract that Star has signed with Shah Rukh is for two seasons with an option to extend it further into a third season. While Star officials have refused to comment on the payout to the “Bollywood Badshah”, Indiantelevision.com has it from reliable sources that the two-season deal is worth a whopping $ 7 million (roughly Rs 320 million).
Each season is for 52 episodes, which means that Shah Rukh has committed to shooting 104 episodes of KBC in all. It is worth noting that the second season of KBC had to be aborted after completing only 61 of the contracted 85 episodes due to Bachchan’s sudden illness.
Newswire Press Trust of India quoted Star Entertainment India CEO Sameer Nair as saying, “Mr Bachchan expressed his disinclination to do the show and we respect his decision. We are indebted to him for what he brought to the show but now it is time to move on and who better to hand over the baton to than Shah Rukh Khan.
“We have been in talks with Shah Rukh Khan for over a month now and he expressed his willingness to do the show. Shooting will begin by December-end and we expect this season to be on air by January-end.”
The show has been slotted in the 9 pm prime time band and will air Monday through to Thursday every week, the same as was the case when KBC first came on air. This effectively means that each season will have a 13-week run.
Nair has been quoted in an official release as saying, “We are extremely delighted to announce the Next Gen avatar of KBC and are even more pleased to present Shah Rukh Khan, as its host. We promise to engage and deliver to our audiences a whole new entertainment experience.”
Shah Rukh Khan added, “I was pleasantly surprised when Star offered me the show. I was a participant in season one of KBC…and little did I know one day I would be hosting it. It is a huge act to follow, that of Mr Bachchan…but it also excites me that I am getting an opportunity to reach out…talk and interact with my audience through a medium where I began my career as an actor years ago. So here’s looking forward to coming round a full circle…guess unlock kiya jaaye.”
Star India has signed a five-year contract with Celador for KBC, the Indian adaptation of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The deal incorporates both the format and programme license, and is the longest continuing license that has ever been granted for the globally successful show.
KBC will be produced by Siddhartha Basu’s Synergy Communications. Says Basu, “KBC with SRK will bring a whole new set of audience to Star Plus. Although I have been associated with KBC ever since it began, this is literally a new beginning for me. SRK’s wit, energy, excitement and enthusiasm will rub-off onto all of us and together as a team we hope to create some magical moments on television.”
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.
