Mumbai: Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd chief content officer - Hindi mass entertainment Manisha Sharma has put in her papers. This is termed as the beginning of the slew of exits that are likely to follow at the media and entertainment company with Alok Jain stepping in as president and head of Colors Hindi and regional, and many senior officials being made to report to him.

At Viacom18, Sharma was associated with properties such as 24, Comedy Nights with Kapil, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, Bigg Boss, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Rising Star, Shakti…Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki, Udaan, Chakravartin Samrat Ashoka, Karmphaldata Shani, Mahakaali, Naagin and others.

Before joining Colors, Sharma was the non-fiction programming head with Sony Entertainment Television and was responsible for the channel’s content strategy and conceptualization. During her stint, she launched shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati, Dus Ka Dum, Comedy Circus, Crime Patrol and fiction properties like Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi and Kkusum. She has also worked with brands like Channel V and UTV and was associated with Miditech’s drama series - Saara Aakash as creative director.

Jain had taken on the reins at Viacom18 this July after a nearly seven-year tenure at Disney Star where he was handling P&L (profit & loss) for the company’s Telugu, Bengali, Oriya, and Kannada cluster of TV channels and Disney+ Hotstar business. Also, this April, Kevin Vaz, the head of network entertainment channels at Disney Star, resigned after a 26-year stint; he stepped in at Viacom18 as head of TV business and digital for regional networks.