BackViacom18 Media elevates Raj Nayak as COO
Viacom18 also elevates Anuj Poddar to the position of head (rural business), gives Ferzad Palia additional responsibility of Brand Studio and MTV Music Project
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New Delhi: Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd, which operates Colors, MTV and Comedy Central channels in India on Monday elevated Raj Nayak as chief operating officer, among several top level changes. Nayak is currently CEO of Viacom18’s Hindi general entertainment channels Colors and Rishtey.
The company also elevated Anuj Poddar, business head of Colors Marathi and Colors Gujarati, to the position of head, rural business. Ferzad Palia, head (youth, music and English entertainment) has also been given the additional responsibility of two new businesses -- Brand Studio and MTV Music Project. Palia’s existing portfolio includes youth-focused channel MTV, music channels MTV Beats and Vh1 and English entertainment channels Colors Infinity and Comedy Central.
Both Poddar and Palia will report to Nayak. “With this move, Viacom18 has consolidated its national brands aimed at youth and adult audiences viz. Hindi, Youth, Music and English Entertainment offerings under the leadership of Raj," the company said in a statement.
“Raj is one of those rare leaders in our industry who possess a sharp business acumen coupled with a nuanced understanding of what makes brands iconic. I am confident that he will be able to take this portfolio of brands to even greater heights as he leverages deeper synergies in his new role," said Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO at Viacom18 and chairman at television viewership ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India, in the statement.
The company has also combined all its regional offerings (Colors Kannada, Colors Super, Colors Marathi, Colors Bangla, Colors Odia, Colors Gujarati and the soon to be launched ColorsTamil) under Ravish Kumar, head, regional entertainment.
Viacom18 also operates three channels in the kids entertainment category, a film studio Viacom18 Motion Pictures and a video-on-demand platform VOOT. “In its second year of operations, VOOT will look to grow its portfolio, bolster its content catalogue, collaborate with like-minded partners and launch segmented offerings," the company added in the statement.
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