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Sony Pictures Networks India rejigs leadership, consolidates revenue streams across TV and digital
As part of the new leadership structure, Nachiket Pantvaidya will head Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Sony Marathi and the movie production business.
SonyLIV, once seen as a key pillar of Sony’s future growth, has struggled to establish itself as a must-visit OTT platform despite early-mover advantage.
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) on Friday announced a leadership realignment as part of its push to become a content-first, platform-agnostic and multi-lingual entertainment company.
The restructuring is aimed at strengthening end-to-end ownership of content, accelerating collaboration across television channels and Sony LIV, and enabling a more unified approach to monetisation across linear and digital platforms.
As part of the new leadership structure, Nachiket Pantvaidya will head Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Sony Marathi and the movie production business. Ajay Bhalwankar will lead Sony SAB, the movies cluster, free-to-air (FTA) and infotainment channels. Rajaraman Sundaram will oversee SPNI’s regional expansion in southern India, while Ambesh Tiwari will lead Sony AATH along with the company’s kids’ business.
SPNI said it will appoint a new head for its digital business and share details once the succession plan is finalised. In the interim, managing director and chief executive officer Gaurav Banerjee will directly oversee the digital vertical.
To execute a unified monetisation strategy across linear and digital platforms, the broadcaster will consolidate key revenue streams across advertising sales and distribution, sports and international business. Rajesh Kaul will lead this integrated revenue engine as chief revenue officer.
In line with the new operating model, Akshay Agrawal has been elevated to head linear ad sales, Makarand Palekar to head linear distribution, while Ranjana Mangla, who currently leads digital ad sales, will also handle the company’s YouTube growth strategy. Manish Aggarwal will lead Sony LIV’s B2B and syndication business. All four executives will report to Kaul.
“As we look ahead to our next phase of growth, we have reviewed our operating model and organisational structure to ensure they best support our goals,” Banerjee said. “We are redefining our content strategy from a largely linear-first approach to a linear and digital model that delivers a seamless consumer experience across platforms. This move will improve focus, agility and execution across the organisation, while strengthening our customer-centric approach across brand and content.”
The leadership overhaul follows the company’s decision to reduce its workforce by around 10% as part of a broader cost rationalisation and restructuring exercise, according to people familiar with the matter. The move is expected to impact about 120 employees across India. It also comes after SPNI appointed global consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to conduct a comprehensive internal audit of its television and digital operations.
Sony Pictures Networks India is the consumer-facing identity of Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s Sony Group Corporation.
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