Manoj Padmanabhan is head, national sales, for Neo Cricket

Padmanabhan's immediate mandate will be to maximise revenues on the India cricket properties that will be telecast on the channel this year, and the next.

Neo Sports Broadcasting has roped in Manoj Padmanabhan as national head, ad sales, for NEO Cricket, the 24x7 cricket-centric channel. He will report to Raju Udupa, executive vice-president, network sales.

Padmanabhan's immediate mandate will be to maximise revenues on the India cricket properties that will be telecast on the channel this year, and the next.

Speaking to afaqs!, Padmanabhan says, "We have the India-England return series coming up in October, followed by the India-West Indies series sometime in November-December. The India-Pakistan series will follow next year, subject to government approval. We have the Asia Cup, too. So, my immediate focus will be upon generating maximum revenues from these properties."

Raju Udupa, executive vice-president, network sales, says on the Padmanabhan's appointment, "We have an action-packed season lined up and I am glad to have Padmanabhan on board. He is known for his sharp acumen and sales expertise. He comes with a holistic knowledge of how cricket sells in India, and I am confident of Neo achieving greater heights."

Padmanabhan's career span includes a tenure at The Times of India (ToI) for two years, followed by a year-long stint at Zoom, where he was part of the launch team.

He has worked with Ten Sports for five years and was promoted as director (ad sales) in April 2009. Padmanabhan has also been with Bloomberg UTV as vice-president, sales, followed by his last spell at Somerset Entertainment Ventures (Singapore) where he was instrumental in setting up and creating a business model for the the Sri Lanka Premier League.