Joy Chakraborthy to join TV Today Network as CEO

He will replace G Krishnan. However, sources close to afaqs! state that the official papers are yet to be signed.

Joy Chakraborthy, executive director, revenue and niche channels, has put in his papers at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), ending his six-year stint with the company.

While Chakraborthy's next move is yet to be officially announced, he is tipped to join the TV Today Network as chief executive officer (CEO), and will replace G Krishnan.

When contacted, the human resource (HR) department at Aaj Tak remained unavailable for comment. However, sources inform afaqs! that while the company people have been informed about Chakraborthy's appointment, the official papers are yet to be signed.

ZEEL is currently in the process of finding a replacement from within the company to fill in Chakraborthy's role.

Chakraborthy joined Zee in March 2005, to head the ad sales function of the company, which was then known as Zee Telefilms. Later, he was made the chief revenue officer and chief operating officer for niche channels before taking on his role of executive director for revenue and niche channels.

His job responsibility revolved around the maximisation of the company's value share through ensuring quality service to business constituents, strategising and initiating value innovations. In addition to being in charge of media sales, he was also the business unit head of niche channels, which were the perception drivers for Zee Network.

Chakraborthy brings with him 15 years of experience in strategic media sales across media organisations such as The Times of India Group and STAR India. His academic armoury includes graduation from the National Defence Academy, a Master's degree in Marketing Management from NMIMS, and more recently, the completion of the Advanced Management Programme from the Harvard Business School.

Krishnan quit in September, 2011. He has more than 25 years of experience in the media. With a Bachelor's degree in Commerce, and a Master's degree in Business Administration, he joined The Economic Times in 1978 in Kolkata, and in 1983, shifted base to Mumbai.

In 1995, Krishnan shifted to Delhi, and joined TV Today, which was a production company then. At TV Today, he launched Aaj Tak, a 20-minute show on Doordarshan. Later, the broadcast company produced several other shows during the Budget and Elections of 1997 for both channels -- DD and DD Metro, in English and Hindi. In 2000, he turned Aaj Tak into a full-fledged 24-hour Hindi news channel. The launch of the channel was followed with the launch of other news channels of the group -- Headlines Today, Delhi Aaj Tak and Tej, from the Group.