Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has appointed Gaurav Banerjee as its new chief executive officer (CEO).
Banerjee will succeed N.P. Singh who recently announced his intention to step down after more than two decades at SPNI.
Banerjee, a former journalist, began his career at Aaj Tak after which he joined Star News in 2004 as a prime-time anchor and senior producer.
In 2005, he launched the Bengali news channel Star Ananda.
Later he moved to Star India where he headed content — Hindi entertainment and Disney+ Hotstar.
He was also the business head – Star Bharat, Hindi & English Movies, Kids & Infotainment & Regional (East).
A Reuters report said Banerjee has resigned from the Disney India unit and that he would join Sony in about two months.
There were no immediate comments from Disney India and Sony.
Banerjee’s move to Sony comes after it called off a proposed $10 billion merger with Zee in January 2024.
Sony runs 26 channels in India, from general entertainment to sports and movies, and also a streaming service.
Sony Group Corp, the Japanese parent of SPNI, had pushed for Singh to lead the merged entity proposed to be formed after amalgamation with Zee before calling off the deal.
The deal announced more than two years back, collapsed following a stalemate over who would lead the merged entity and also due to failure to meet closing conditions by Zee despite a month’s extension of deadline.
On the other hand, Disney is merging its media operations in India with Reliance Industries.
Reliance has filed an application with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the merger of Viacom18 and Star India Pvt Ltd (SIPL), which is wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company.
The Reliance-Disney move will create a ₹70,352 crore ($8.5 billion) entity having interests across TV and digital streaming. It will see Reliance and Viacom18 holding 63.16 per cent stake (16.34 per cent by RIL, 46.82 per cent by Viacom18) with the rest being held by Disney.
Singh an industry veteran had risen from the post of CFO of SPNI in 1999 to CEO in 2014.
During his tenure at SPNI, he also served as its chief operating officer.
