Sameer Nair moves out of Imagine

Nair, chief executive officer of Turner General Entertainment Networks, quits. Sunny Saha, currently head of Turner's entertainment networks for the Asia-Pacific region to take charge.

Sameer Nair, chief executive officer of Turner General Entertainment Networks (TGEN), has decided to part ways with the network.

With Nair moving out, the network will fall under the supervision of Sunny Saha, currently the head of Turner's entertainment networks for the Asia-Pacific region.

As part of his new mandate, Saha, along with his management team in India, will work with Imagine to craft and implement a new strategic plan to help improve the channel's performance.

This was announced through an internal mail.

Post Nair's exit, the operation of Imagine TV will be completely integrated into Turner Broadcasting System Asia-Pacific (TBSAP).

Steve Marcopoto, president, TBSAP says on the development, "While Imagine has enjoyed some significant successes in distinctive programming and built a solid audience base for a young channel in an extremely competitive genre, we need to improve the channel's overall performance and best position it for sustainable long-term growth. Nair and I agree that the best way to achieve this is for him to move on and merge TGEN, to operate within the entertainment division of TBSAP. I want to express my sincere gratitude for all that Nair has done to create Imagine, develop a great team, and provide us the opportunity to compete in the Hindi GE space."

Nair will, meanwhile, provide transitional support to Imagine in the near term.

Says Nair, "It's been an incredible entrepreneurial experience for me these past four years, building brand and team Imagine, and competing in the marketplace. I leave behind a great team with great ideas in safe hands, and wish Imagine every success in the future as I pursue new challenges."

Imagine was originally launched in January 2008 as NDTV Imagine. Turner Asia-Pacific Ventures (a wholly owned subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System) obtained 92 per cent stake in NDTV Imagine in December 2009. Post this, NDTV Imagine became Imagine TV.