It began with NP Singh stepping down as the MD and CEO of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) in May and has continued with many more exits in quick succession. Three of the 11 members of the leadership team have already announced their departure from the company.
On Monday SPNI announced that Neeraj Vyas, Business Head for Sony Entertainment Television, Sony SAB, PAL, and Sony MAX Movie Cluster, will be moving on, effective August 31, 2024. Later in the evening, e4m reported that Sony has restructured its top-level management with Nachiket Pantvaidya, Tushar Shah and Ajay Bhalwankar being assigned new roles at the network.
Nachiket Pantvaidya, who joined Sony Pictures International Production (SPIP) in June as General Manager, will be heading Sony TV, whereas Tushar Shah, who was earlier the business head of Bengali, English and infotainment channels and CMO will now be heading Sony’s Hindi Movies channels SET Max.
Ajay Bhalwankar, who was heading Sony Marathi, will be heading SONY SAB. Danish Khan, on the other hand, will continue leading the digital business.
Earlier this month, the company announced that Ashok Nambissan, the General Counsel, and Nitin Nadkarni, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), are set to retire on August 31, 2024.
Last month, Raj Mohan Srinivasan stepped down as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at SPNI. Rumours are rife about other senior executives moving on from SPNI but the official word is not out.
Prior to these exits came Gaurav Banerjee’s appointment as the new MD and CEO.
However, amidst declining channel ratings and the failed $10 billion merger with Zee, the appointment of Gaurav Banerjee has brought a glimmer of hope during a tumultuous year for the network.
These departures indicate a period of significant transition for SPNI as the network navigates through a reshuffling of its senior management and top executives. Apart from the restructuring, the network is also witnessing challenges on the distribution front.
As reported by exchange4media last week, Tata Play, the direct to home (DTH) platform, removed Sony channels from its packs. Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO, Tata Play, told exchange4media that they are restructuring their channel bouquets by removing less-watched channels and adjusting monthly charges accordingly.
An industry observer noted that with the appointment of a new CEO, the network is likely to undergo restructuring. This will involve some employees exiting the company, changes in the roles of others and appointment of new executives. “It's not new that whenever there is a new CEO, the company is likely to undergo some changes across levels.”
According to other experts, while management restructuring may not impact the network's business significantly, addressing distribution issues remains crucial.
On the Tata Play development, another senior executive shared that Tata Play is a big player with the highest share in the DTH industry. “Advertising revenue depends on the channels’ performance and not the people's movement. However, the distribution needs to be sorted because in the longer term it can impact both distribution and advertising revenue as well.”
It is also important to note that the network's flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Sony TV is already facing a storm as the channel’s viewership figures have seen a drop in recent times. As earlier reported by exchange4media, the channel which used to operate between 90-100 GRPs until three years ago is now operating at 70 GRPs, with industry experts attributing it to several factors including a decline in viewership of non-fiction shows across Hindi GECs, which used to be one of the biggest audience grabbers.
Moreover, the shift towards digital platforms took away what remained in terms of viewership, some observers noted.
