MUMBAI: Viacom18 has 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.

Viacom18 head regional TV network Ravish Kumar said, “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.”

Deepak Rajyadhakshya has been appointed as Colors Marathi head. He has more than 18 years of experience in broadcast and entertainment, ranging across creative and business roles. He joined 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 he will report to Viacom18 business head Marathi entertainment Nikhil Sane.

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 eloquent writer and speaker with 27 years of media experience in multi-channel content strategizing and content creation. Prior to joining Viacom18, he was working with the Vikatan Media Group as its 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 Pvt Ltd and Spencer’s Retail in the past. At Viacom18 both will be reporting to Colors Tamil business head Anup Chandrasekharan.

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

Also, Jayanta Bhattacharya has come onboard as head, OAP for 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 Colors Bangla and Colors Odia head creative and content Suvonkar Banerjee.

Previously working as the marketing head at the ABP group, Biswarup Das has joined Viacom18 as head marketing for 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 Viacom18 Bangla and Odia entertainment business head Rahul Chakravarti.

In the Kannada Entertainment space, Abhaya Simha has been appointed as head –digital for Kannada Entertainment. Simha is a film director and a screenwriter. An alumnus of FTII – Pune, Abhaya’s debut venture, He 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 Viacom18 Kannada entertainment business head Parameshwar Bhat.

For the cluster’s Gujarati space, Darshil Bhatt has joined as the programming head for Gujarati entertainment. Bhatt 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 3 major stations. At Viacom18 he will be responsible for increasing the visibility and perception of the Gujarati entertainment vertical of the network. He will report to Kumar.