GECs
Viacom reworks Asia strategy
Viacom Incorporated, which has been toying with the idea of setting up operations in India to give its channels other than MTV a push, has left that job to its subsidiary MTV Networks Asia.
Viacom, which has MTV, children’s channel Nickelodeon, Nick at Night (for older kids), VH1 and Black Entertainment Television under its umbrella in the US, has left it to MTV Networks Asia to handle all operations related to its channels.
The first on the agenda is Nickelodeon, which has been struggling to gain a toehold in the Indian market. We will probably see VH1 also making its entry sometime in the middle of the year.
Nickelodeon, for which a major thrust is planned over the coming months, will be handled by MTV India in tandem with Zee Telefilms. MTV and Zee have set aside their differences over how the channel is to be marketed and pushed through and the results will become evident in the next couple of months, Sanjeev Hiremath, MTV’s distribution head, says.
Nickeledeon is being sold in India as part of Zee’s Direct to operator (DTO) package and and the distribution of set boxes are going on at a brisk pace, Hiremath said. “However, ad sales will be handled by our team,” he pointed out.
“MTV is looking after the other South Asian markets like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal,” Hiremath said.
Sainath Aiyar, head corporate communications Zee Telefilms, said Nickelodeon was getting preferred carriage on Siticable (part of the Zee group) and was airing on the Zee TV channel twice a day which was already increasing its visibility. Nickelodeon appears in the 8:30 am to 9:30 am morning slot and the 4:30 to 5:30 pm evening slot.
Aiyar, however, admitted that the programmes, which replaced Disney Hour in same slots, didn’t have the kind of viewer recognition that the Disney programmes enjoyed. “It will still be a while before Nickelodeon establishes itself,” Aiyar said.
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.
