GECs
&TV’s The Voice India Kids gears up for Battles
Mumbai: &TV’s premiere singing reality show The Voice India Kids has gained immense popularity and fan following for its great talent, fun banter between the Coaches and superlative singing. The young voices introduced in BLIND audition have definitely lived up to the motto of “Size kum hai, par dum nahi” with the youngest contestant being all of 6 years old! The Coaches – Shekhar, Neeti and Shaan have fought for the Voices that struck a chord with them and have now formed their teams with the best contestants. With 18 contestants in each team, the race to the finish has only intensified further! Don’t miss the unique, spellbinding and high voltage episodes of the fiery BATTLES starting August 27th every Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 pm only on &TV.
If you thought the BLIND audition was unique, the BATTLES will be even more impactful. Each coach will choose 3 kids from their own team and train them for a song that highlights their best aspect of singing. The coaches will be seen leaving no stone unturned to spend time with their teams and imparting knowledge about music. However, during the BATTLES, the coaches will find themselves in a tight spot as they will take a call and eliminate 2 contestants from the trio they formed themselves. To add to this metaphorical round is the set design wherein the stage will be set up like a boxing ring.
Interestingly, for the BATTLES, the coaches have sought help from the best in the industry. While Singer Harshdeep Kaur joined Neeti to sort trios and pick songs for them, Music Director Shantanu Moitra backed Shaan and engaged in the selection process of his team. Composer, Musician, Singer and Lyricist Amit Trivedi spent time with Shekhar and his team and tried various combination of voices till they found the perfect trio.
The excitement among the three judges is intense and the response overwhelming. Said Coach Shaan, “Last time, it was tough for me to pair two adults for the BATTLES and this time around it’s even more challenging to form a trio with the kids wherein two of them will be eliminated. What is overwhelming and encouraging is the fact that these kids are so eager to learn and grasp new things. It has certainly been an enriching experience.”
Added Coach Shekhar Ravjiani, “While the BLIND Auditions have been exciting, the real task has just begun. As a coach, my priority is to train these kids to the best of my ability in the given time and prepare them for the next round which is the BATTLES. Matching the scale and the tempo of each child with the other and forming a trio is definitely difficult but the end result will be fabulous. We have spent time together and selected songs that the kids have worked upon and enjoyed.”
Coach Neeti Mohan further added, “I am proud of each and every contestant who has participated in The Voice India Kids. I can completely understand their fears and anxieties and hence adopted a different style of coaching them. I have had various interactions with them to tell them that this is a learning ground for them and what they experience here is certainly going to help them in the long run. They may seem to be 10- 14 years old, but their maturity is commendable.”
From the house of Talpa Media and produced by Endemol Shine India, The Voice India Kids has become definitely popular with ardent fans around the globe encouraging the contestants through social media platforms. And now the enthusiasm goes several notches higher as the battleground is set to choose the best.
Tune in to The Voice India Kids BATTLES starting August 27th every Saturday and Sunday at 9.00 pm on &TV!
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.
