Mumbai: CNBC-TV18 has hired a head of distribution, ahead of the launch of its Hindi business news channel.

The two channels, however, will continue to be part of the Zee-Turner distribution bouquet. The responsibility of the distribution head will be to liaison with the Zee-Turner team.

Sisir Pillai, who was chief of the film exhibition division in Metalight Productions, has been hired to head the distribution team. He will be reporting to the marketing head and may have a small team.

Walt Disney and NDTV have set up dedicated distribution teams, despite being part of distribution bouquets. The idea is to monitor the distribution growth and placement of the channels.

With cable networks getting choked in bandwidth, new channels are fighting to get carried to consumer homes. One way out is to join an existing bouquet. But as distribution bouquets are becoming larger, channels feel the need of having their own team to provide specific attention. A dedicated distribution team will interact with cable operators on a regular basis to try and push the channels in a crowded environment.

But CNBC-TV18 has no such plans of setting up a dedicated distribution team the way Walt Disney is doing, says chief executive officer Haresh Chawla. "We are not having such plans as Walt Disney. We are launching a new channel. So we have added a distribution head who will form part of the marketing team."