News Broadcasting
ZMCL targets April – June launch of English news channel
MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra’s Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL) is targeting to launch its English news channel in the first quarter of the next financial year (April – June 2016).
A senior ZMCL executive tells Indiantelevision.com that while the name of the channel has not yet been decided, the recruitment has already started. “We are building a team, which in the long run will turn out to be a formidable one,” the executive says.
As a first step in recruitment, ZMCL has already got on board Rohit Gandhi as editor-in-chief (English News and Current Affairs) to steer the proceedings.
The channel will be distributed globally as a part of the Living Bouquet. “Pay model will be the biggest source of revenue when it comes to global market, but initially in India, we will focus on advertising,” informs the executive.
The English news channel will produce content, which will cater to the global audience.
Zee’s English news channel will be totally different from its existing Hindi news channel Zee News, which caters to the Hindi Speaking Market (HSM). “We are creating an entirely new infrastructure and putting up new studios for the new channel. It will be under ZMCL but totally separate from Zee News both in terms of operations as well as editorial,” asserts the executive.
Currently, ZMCL has in its portfolio three national channels Zee News (Hindi News), India 24X7, and Zee Business. In addition, its regional news channels’ portfolio comprises Zee Marathi, Zee Madhya Pradesh / Chhattisgarh, Zee Rajasthan, Zee Punjab Haryana / Himachal and Zee Kalinga (Odisha). The company also operates two regional news channels through its subsidiaries namely 24 Ghanta (Bengali) through Zee Akaash News Pvt Ltd and Maurya TV (Bihar & Jharkhand) through Maurya TV Private Limited.
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
