Mergers & movements: Shifts that redefined the Indian M&E in 2024

The year 2024 will be remembered as a pivotal moment in the history of Indian media. From the cancellation of the Zee-Sony merger to the completion of the Disney-Reliance merger, the year has been packed with transformative events reshaping the industry.

These major business developments have also had a significant impact on the people within the sector. Key leaders transitioned between networks; some stepped down, while others rose to new heights. Here’s a look at some of the most notable leadership movements in the media industry this year.

JioStar 

When Reliance Industries initiated the Rs 70,000 crore merger with Disney Star, it led to a massive resource reshuffle in the media sector. 

K Madhavan, country manager and president of Disney Star and Disney+ Hotstar, and executive vice president and head Sajith Sivanandan both exited the company ahead of the merger. Earlier in the year, Anil Jayraj, CEO of Viacom18 Sports, moved out. 

Kevin Vaz, Kiran Mani, and Sanjog Gupta are the new trio leading the merged entity. Vaz heads entertainment while Mani and Gupta head digital and sports, respectively, at JioStar. 

Ajit Varghese is the head of revenue for the entertainment and international divisions of the merged entity. YouTube’s Ishan Chatterjee is the head of business, sports revenue, SMB & creator. And Amazon’s Sushant Sreeram heads marketing at the JV.   

Devika Prabhu, Disney Star's business head for kids and infotainment, and Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, the head of distribution at Disney Star, were some high-profile exits from Star this year. 

Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI)

After working with SPNI for 25 years, NP Singh, MD and CEO, announced the end of his tenure to focus on social change and a shift from operational roles to advisory ones.

He transitioned to the role of non-executive chairman. In August, SPNI appointed former Disney executive Gaurav Banerjee as its new managing director and CEO.

Neeraj Vyas, business head—Sony Entertainment Television, Sony SAB, PAL, and Sony MAX Movie Cluster, also left the company to embark on a new entrepreneurial journey.

Leena Lele Dutta, who has spearheaded the kids and animation portfolio since its launch in 2017, will be stepping down as its business head towards the end of this fiscal year. Ambesh Tiwari, who recently joined Sony YAY! as business operations head, will be succeeding her. 

Meanwhile, Nimisha Pandey, formerly the chief content officer at Zee5, joined Sony SAB as its programming head. 

Zee Entertainment Enterprises 

Turmoil at Zee continued with the media conglomerate’s CEO, Punit Goeka, resigning as managing director, which was followed by shareholders of the company rejecting a proposal to reappoint Goenka as the director. 

Further, Zee5’s Manish Kalra and Zee5 Global’s Archana Anand have vacated their positions at the streaming platform.  

News media

In June, Avinash Pandey, CEO of ABP Network, quit the group after nearly two decades long association. The network appointed Sumanta Datta as its new chief executive officer in November.

Before joining ABP Network, Datta served as the managing director of Oxford University Press. In a career spanning over three decades, he has worked at Logitech and Coca-Cola.

At Times Network, MK Anand, managing director and CEO, also announced his retirement, bringing to a close almost three decades of long association with the Times Group.

In June, Varun Kohli joined the Times Network as chief operating officer for the News Broadcasting Business. His last assignment was as Director & CEO of Bharat Express.

Abhay Ojha is no longer the chief executive officer of Zee Media. In a meeting in May, the Board of Directors approved and confirmed the cessation of his employment from the organisation and his consequent cessation as the CEO.

The company named Karan Abhishek Singh as the CEO In July. He was previously the CEO of Network18–Hindi Cluster. Mona Jain, chief revenue officer at Zee Media, also stepped down in August.

Bobby Pawar, renowned adman and former chairman and chief creative officer of Havas Group, joined News18 Studio, the branded content arm of Network18, as creative a consultant in the month of May.