Excl: Photos from NP Singh’s last day in SPNI office
August 23, 2024, marks the end of NP Singh's 25-year-long stint at Sony Network Pictures India.
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Although NP Singh's decision to step down as MD and CEO of Sony Pictures Networks India was announced in May, today, August 23, marks his last day at the company.
After serving a 25-year tenure at SPNI, Singh, on May 24, announced, “Today, I have a significant update to share. After nearly 44 years in my career, including a rewarding 25-year tenure at SPNI, I have decided to move on from my role as MD and CEO. Having reached many significant milestones with our team, I am now ready to focus on social change and shift from operational roles to advisory ones.”
“However, my commitment to SPNI and its success remains strong. During my time here, we have established industry benchmarks, expanded our reach, and achieved many noteworthy accomplishments. I am dedicated to ensuring our legacy of success continues and grows under the new leadership,” he added.
Exactly a month later, on June 24, Sony appointed Gaurav Banerjee as the new MD and CEO, effective on or before August 26, 2024.
Singh first joined Sony in 1999 as CFO and later became the COO before becoming MD and CEO in 2014. During his quarter of a century with the network, the company saw a fair share of ups (mostly) and downs.
Singh has been, in fact, the transformative force behind the fuelling network’s expansion. While the network's primary focus has been general entertainment channels (GECs), in 2002 it ventured into sports after obtaining the media rights for International Cricket Council (ICC) matches that were broadcast on SET and Sony Max (from 2002 to 2007). Beginning in 2008, Sony was also the exclusive broadcaster of the highly sought-after Indian Premier League for ten years. He even introduced the Group's OTT platform SonyLIV in 2013.
Ashish Bhasin, Founder, The Bhasin Consulting Group, who served on the BARC India board alongside Singh, told Storyboard18 earlier, “NP has been one of the stalwarts of the industry, and I was fortunate that we served on a few boards together. I've always found him fair and upright in his dealings. He has led Sony through different phases to a good height. He should be proud of the successful innings that he has played, and I wish him all the very best for the future,” he said.
He had added that Singh is “one of the real gentlemen from the broadcast side, and a good friend & partner to deal with.”
"NP has been a great leader in the broadcast ecosystem for so many years. His contribution as Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) President and also Director on the BARC board apart from leading Sony has been really commendable. I have personally admired his style of leadership and his understated dominance in the industry. Man of few words - I wish him the best for his days ahead,” Partho Dasgupta, Managing Partner, Thoth Advisors and ex-CEO of BARC India, said during the announcement in May.
Read more: Zee-Sony merger failure: Impact of NP Singh’s decision to move on from his position at SPNI
Singh is also on the Board of Directors of the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).
Interestingly, Singh's announcement of stepping down also came right after five months of the merger termination between Sony and ZEEL.
After two years of talks, the mega-merger of Sony and Zee collapsed when the former pulled the plug in January 2024. A major bone of contention that emerged as one of the causes of termination was the leadership issue and disagreements over who would lead the merged entity. Sony wanted NP Singh and Zee resisted, insisting on Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of ZEEL to helm the merged company.
