Viacom18 announces new appointments

Viacom18 has recently announced a series of senior level hires for its regional TV cluster, bolstering its creative and content capabilities ahead of its plans to fortify its position across markets. To further fuel growth in the non-Hindi speaking markets, the organisation is assembling leaders and creative talent who bring in diverse and rich experiences across their respected fields.

Deepak Rajyadhakshya has been appointed as head, Colors Marathi. A true-blue content creator and collaborator at heart, Rajyadhakshya has 18+ years of prolific experience in broadcast and entertainment, ranging across creative and business roles. He joins Viacom18 from the Zee Network where he headed the business for Zee Marathi before moving internally to spearhead the mainline Hindi GEC Zee TV. In his current capacity Rajyadhakshya will report to Nikhil Sane – business head, Marathi entertainment, Viacom18.

Colors Tamil has two pivotal roles filled up with the inclusion of Raj Kannan as head, programming and Radha Ramamurthy as head, ideation. Kannan is an astute professional and a highly eloquent writer and speaker with 27 years of media experience in multi-channel content strategising and content creation. Prior to joining Viacom18, he was working with the Vikatan Media Group as their brands and themes' editor-in-chief where he played a distinctive part in handling the entire gamut of business in print and visual mediums.

Ramamurthy has 11 years of professional expertise in ideating and executing televised shows and events, brand building, marketing strategy and communications across diversified industries – Media, FMCG and Retail. She helps businesses connect with clients and consumers in novel and productive ways by bringing about mutually profitable interactions between these intersectional groups. Prior to joining Viacom18 she was working with Vikatan Media Group as their head of events and brand connect. She has also worked with Zee Tamil, Coca-Cola Beverages and Spencer’s Retail in the past. At Viacom18 both Kannan and Ramamurthy will be reporting into Anup Chandrasekharan, business head - Colors Tamil.

Aratrika Bhaumik has been appointed as head, ideation – Colors Bangla. With 13 years of experience, Bhaumik has worked for more than a decade at Star India at the national as well as regional bases.

Jayanta Bhattacharya has come onboard as head, OAP - Colors Bangla. With 16 years of experience, Bhattacharya moves in from Zee Bangla where he oversaw promo ideation. At Colors Bangla, Bhaumik and Bhattacharya will be in charge of scaling up the channel’s offerings under the guidance of Suvonkar Banerjee, head - creative and content, Colors Bangla and Colors Odia.

Previously working as the marketing head at the ABP group, Biswarup Das has joined Viacom18 as head, marketing - Colors Bangla and Colors Odia. With 17 years of work experience under his belt, Das will spearhead the brand marketing and strategy for the channels and will work towards enhancing the strategic brand framework, brand architecture, and experience in the field. He will report to Rahul Chakravarti, business head – Bangla and Odia Entertainment, Viacom18.

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In the Kannada entertainment space, Abhaya Simha has been appointed as head – digital, Kannada entertainment. Simha is a film director and a screenwriter. An alumnus of FTII – Pune, Simha’s debut venture, Gubbachchigalu, won the National Award for the best children's film in 2008. Simha has also worked with Star Suvarna and Prajavani and is a visiting faculty at many prestigious colleges across South India. At Viacom18, He will be responsible for incubating original concepts and shows in the Kannada language for VOOT. In his current capacity he will report to Parameshwar Bhat, business head - Kannada entertainment, Viacom18.

Darshil Bhatt has joined as the programming head for Gujarati entertainment. Darshil has 11 years of experience in the Media industry. In his last stint with 94.3 MY FM as programming head he was responsible for leading and managing Music, Content, Client Solutions, Brand Marketing, Programming, Digital and Production for three major stations. At Viacom18 Bhatt will be responsible for increasing the visibility and perception of the Gujarati entertainment vertical of the network. He will report into Ravish Kumar, Head - regional TV network, Viacom18.

Speaking about the new appointments, Ravish Kumar, head - regional TV network, Viacom18, says in a press release, “Regional is a big growth driver for Viacom18 as a network. The challenge, as well as the opportunity, lies in the diversity that regional as a space demands. While the different businesses of the organisation synergise to produce great content, each region and role require talented and committed people who understand the nuances typical to their regions. Each of the leaders who have joined our Regional Entertainment space, is a stalwart in his/her space and role. I am excited that together, we can further strengthen our offering to our discerning viewers.