MUMBAI: Avinash Himatsinghani, SVP and GM-South East Asia at Fox International Channels (FIC) Asia, has decided to move on.

Based out of Singapore, Himatsinghani will be with the company till the end of this calendar year.

He is quitting the company to explore other opportunities.

FIC COO- Asia-Pacific Zubin Gandevia said, "Avi is an incredibly talented executive who has helped us build each of our markets into a strong local business with teams on the ground, great distribution, ad sales partnerships and great affiliate relationships. We wish him all the very best in his new endeavor."

Himatsinghani added, "It has been a superb 11 years for me at FIC. The time has come for me to move on and explore new ventures - the entrepreneurial spirit in me has been kindled and I look forward to setting up my own business in the not so distant future."

Himatsinghani was a part of the early team that helped build the FIC business. He started off in 2001, first as part of Star?s ad sales team in Hong Kong, he moved on to set up National Geographic Channel?s regional ad sales business across APAC, helping build the sales teams across markets and driving some key partnerships that have become the cornerstone for Fox One Stop Media, as the advertising sales business is known today.

MUMBAI: Setanta Sports, the international sports broadcaster, has agreed a multi-year deal to distribute its exclusive rugby programming on Multi Screen Media?s sports channel Sony Six.

Sony Six will broadcast live coverage of the RBS Six Nations, Super Rugby and Rugby Championship (formerly Tri Nations) as well as showing Setanta?s flagship rugby programme: The Breakdown.

"We are delighted to work with Sony SIX to bring our exclusive rugby programming to India. Our goal is to achieve the greatest possible exposure of rugby across the whole of Asia," said Setanta Sports International MD Roger Hall.

Setanta Sports has extensive distribution for its channel and programming in Asia with deals in Thailand (with TrueVisions), Hong Kong (with Now TV and Hong Kong Broadband), Malaysia and Brunei (with Astro), Singapore (with StarHub and SingTel mio TV), Taiwan (with Dish HD), the Philippines (with SKYcable) and Sri Lanka (with Dialog TV).

Sony Six has Indian Premier League and Ultimate Fighting Championship as its driving properties in India. It also has FA Cup and NBA to complement its key properties in addition to international football friendlies.