News Broadcasting
Savdhaan India launches it’s new season of Savdhaan India
MUMBAI: Life OK’s flagship series Savdhaan India has received tremendous love and respect from the viewers in the last 4 years. In this journey, it has not only alerted citizens against crime and but has also given them the strength and motivation to face crime. In addition to showcasing real life incidents, the show has also advanced to acknowledging brave hearts who chose to fight against crime through Samman Awards.
Savdhaan India is all set to start its new season with a hard-hitting avatar. The new season’s philosophy – ‘darrkarnahi, dattkar’ urges the citizens to break their prevailing attitude of letting things be, of letting the powerful get away with crime, of not speaking up out of fear and face crime head on. As a brand that has always believed in walking the talk, Savdhaan India took the campaign on ground across the country and interacted with the citizens of Delhi, Lucknow and Ahmedabad
The campaign began at the capital city Delhi where the ‘darrkarnahi, dattkar’ anthem along with the pledge movement was unveiled for the very first time. In the next leg of the campaign, the anchors visited notorious crime locations and interacted with the citizens there. SarkhejGandhinagar Highway in Ahmedabad and PatrakarpuramChauraha in Lucknow were visited as hit and run cases and eve-teasing incidents are very prevalent in these locations respectively.
Savdhaan India has always acknowledged the youth to be change agents. Hence, following the visit to the crime locations, the team of Savdhaan India visited schools and colleges. The hosts invited the students to become partners in this attitudinal revolution. The students using a palm scanner digitally pledged their support. The hosts discussed youth related issues like eve teasing, ragging, bullying and cybercrime. At HK College in Ahmedabad many students shared harrowing experiences of being bullied and eve-teased and how they fought it. While in CMS, Gomtinagar – the students and the hosts had a very relevant discussion on how to protect oneself on social media.
A picture lasts forever and with that thought – the team of Savdhaan India created a huge pledge wall in these 3 cities. All those who were a part of this initiative clicked a picture of themselves against the wall to remind themselves of the pledge they took. More than 1000 pictures were collected. Lastly, the hosts felicitated the bravehearts who narrated their own stories of facing crime fearlessly thereby taking the of initiative ‘darrkarnahi, dattkar’ to life.
Stay Tuned to Savdhaan India to catch some of the most unnerving stories everydayat 10:00 pm only on Life OK
About STAR India:
STAR India has defined India’s broadcast media for over two decades and is today one of the country’s leading media and entertainment companies. It broadcasts more than 40 channels in 7 languages, reaching more than 720 million viewers every week across India and 100 countries. The network’s entertainment channel portfolio includes Star Gold, Channel V, Star World, Star Movies, Star Utsav, Life OK, Movies OK and Star Plus, India’s No. 1 General Entertainment Channel. It has a leading presence in regional broadcasting as well, through a bouquet of affiliate channels which includes Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies, Star Pravah, Asianet, Asianet Plus, Suvarna, Suvarna Plus and Vijay.
STAR India is making quantum leaps in transforming sports in the country by leveraging the group’s strengths in superior content and audience engagement. STAR’s sports business has grown rapidly to 8 channel properties (STAR Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 and STAR Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4), making it the leading sports network in the country.
With our viewers on the move, Star is set to drive the agenda on digital content consumption in the country. starsports.com has redefined the future of sports consumption in India and now hotstar.com brings your favourite TV shows, movies and sports in one destination.
News Broadcasting
GenNext takes charge as Network18 reshuffles leadership
With Avinash Kaul bowing out, Network18 hands reins to younger leaders, streamlines operations, and pushes data-driven growth across TV, digital and regional markets
MUMBAI: Network18 is redrawing its leadership map just as a long-time lieutenant bows out. Avinash Kaul, a central figure in the broadcaster’s rise since 2014, is leaving after 12 years to pursue “professional and personal goals”, triggering a broad-based reshuffle that puts a younger cohort directly under the top brass.
Kaul joined at a pivotal moment during the company’s transition and went on to scale the television business, combining strategic nous with data-led decision-making and a sharp read of the news landscape. “Avinash has been an integral part of the Network18 story,” the company said, thanking him for his leadership of the broadcast business and wishing him the best for the future.
In his wake, Network18 is betting on what it calls a “young and restless” leadership bench. “The team has taken charge and proved its mettle in quite adverse circumstances,” the note said, adding that “GenNext has seamlessly stepped in as we continue to outperform our peers.”
Operationally, the structure is being flattened. Smriti Mehra, S Shivakumar and Mitul Sangani will work directly with the top leadership, as they did in the fourth quarter. Ganesh Iyer and Abhinay Chauhan continue in their existing roles, while younger executives are being handed wider mandates across social, digital, connected TV and linear.
The reporting lines are being tightened to drive revenue and product momentum. Prabhat Chatterjee, business head–Forbes, and Arun Thapar, president–content and communication for AETN-18, will report to Smriti Mehra, alongside Mallika Nath Handa, who will lead special projects spanning new shows and non-linear properties. Jayesh Gokalgandhi, CFO for AETN-18, will report to Ramesh Damani.
Mitul Sangani will oversee expansion in Hindi and regional markets, with Sidharth Newatia, CRO–ILC, focusing on reach and revenue growth, particularly in tier-II and III markets. Pankaj Soni, head of marketing–ILC, will also report to Sangani while working functionally with Ganesh Iyer.
The group is also consolidating its branded content play. Moneycontrol’s branded content business will be folded into News18 Studio, with Don Zarrar moving to work with Shivakumar while continuing to lead existing studio and Focus teams.
International and platform growth are being bundled together. Pranav Bakshi takes on additional charge of the international business alongside connected TV and social platforms, with Naveen Mathur, who leads revenue management for the international unit, reporting to him. Bakshi continues to report to Puneet Singhvi.
On the technology and operations side, Rajesh Sharma, head of broadcast technology and IT; Rahul Singh, head of events and technical operations; and Bhupender Bhardwaj, head of IT security, will now report to Singhvi. Darshil Parekh, head of sales strategy, planning and operations, will work directly with Ramesh Damani and the top leadership, with Stanley Cyril, who manages digital sales operations, reporting to him.
Data is being pushed to the centre of decision-making. Jitamitra Mohanty, who leads research and analytics, will now work with Santosh Menon to turn audience data into “actionable insights that drive content strategy, product innovation and sustainable viewership growth”.
The message is clear: fewer layers, faster calls, sharper bets. With Kaul’s exit closing one chapter, Network18 is handing the wheel to a younger crew and doubling down on scale across screens. The race, it signals, will be run at full tilt.
