Kevin Vaz, Disney Star’s head of network entertainment channels, has put in his papers after a nearly three-decade association with the company, informed sources told FE.
Vaz is likely to join Viacom18 Media as its chief executive officer, replacing Jyoti Deshpande, currently the CEO of the company, persons in the know said.
Both Disney Star and Viacom18 declined comment on the matter. Vaz was not immediately available for comment.
Vaz’s exit from Disney Star comes after Uday Shankar, the promoter of Bodhi Tree Systems along with James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, was appointed to the board of Viacom18 last week, the sources said. Reliance-backed Viacom18 had recently announced closure of the `15,145-crore deal with Bodhi Tree, with RIL group entities contributing `10,839 crore in cash, while Bodhi Tree contributing `4,306 crore to the deal.
Vaz, a popular name in the media industry, had first joined the Star India network in 1996 in the sales function. He became the youngest ad sales executive in the company’s history, taking over the responsibility of various linear TV channels within the network. He was elevated to the position of head of network entertainment channels in September 2021, responsible for 53 channels within the company.
Vaz, said persons in the know, is likely to head the entire TV and digital portfolio for Viacom18, except sports, which is under Anil Jayaraj, who was also earlier with Disney Star.
Meanwhile, Jyoti Deshpande, who also heads Jio Studios and is president, chairman office at Reliance Industries, is likely to head the studio business. Deshpande was appointed the CEO of Viacom18 in September 2021. She also serves on the boards of Network18 and Reliance’s investee companies Balaji Telefilms and Saavn Media.
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