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NEW
DELHI/MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra's high profile recruitment from
Bennett Coleman & Company Limited (BCCL) continues. After
tapping Times of India Group president and director Pradeep
Guha as Zeel CEO, he has now turned to Bhaskar Das to grow
his digital and news business.
 Das,
who earlier worked under Guha and spent over three decades
in BCCL, is joining Zee as Group CEO responsible for digital
and news business, which includes Zee News Ltd and india.com
web portal, which is a joint venture between Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) and PMC, a US-based digital media company.
A
senior official with Zee Group, who did not want to be identified,
said Das’ mandate is to launch new digital initiatives
and expand news business and he will report straight to group
chairman Chandra.
Zee
already has plans in place to launch an English news channel
and foray into regional markets.
The
appointment of Das follows the exit of Zee News Limited CEO
Barun Das, who had shepherded the news broadcasting entity
for the past five years. Following his exit, Cheil Worldwide
South West Asia CEO Alok Agrawal was appointed as ZNL CEO.
Das’
entry into Zee comes at an interesting juncture when the country
is moving towards digitisation, which is expected to change
the dynamics of the Indian broadcasting industry.
Das
had joined BCCL as a management trainee in 1980 and rose to
become President of the print media major. At BCCL, which
publishes The Times of India and THe Economic Times, his prime
responsibility was maximisation of volume and market share.
In
his own words, Das was responsible for over 85 per cent of
BCCL’s turnover. During his tenure as executive president,
BCCL’s advertising revenue has grown from Rs 15.6 billion
to Rs 29 billion within three years. He was appointed executive
president of the company in 2005.
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