ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey has been re-elected President of the News Broadcasters & Digital Association. M V Shreyams Kumar, Managing Director, Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd., has been re-elected Vice President. Anuradha Prasad Shukla, Chairperson-cum-Managing Director, News24 Broadcast India Ltd., will continue to be Honorary Treasurer of the NBDA for the year 2023-2024.
The other members on the NBDA Board are:
> Rajat Sharma, Chairman – Independent News Services Pvt. Ltd.
> MK Anand, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer – Times Network – Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd
> Rahul Joshi, Managing Director – TV18 Broadcast Ltd.
> I Venkat, Director – Eenadu Television Pvt. Ltd.
> Kalli Purie Bhandal, Vice-Chairperson & Managing Director – TV Today Network Ltd.
> Sonia Singh, Editorial Director, NDTV – New Delhi Television Ltd.
> Anil Kumar Malhotra, Advisor, Zee Media Corporation Ltd.
ABP News appoints journalist Sandeep Chaudhary as Anchor and Consulting Editor. Chaudhary brings with him over twenty-four years of experience in the field of journalism. He will report to Sant Prasad Rai, Senior Vice President, News & Production, ABP News.
Chaudhary was also a part of Star News hosting 7 pm show ‘Desh Videsh’ from 2003 to 2005. He also hosted ‘Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri’ and ‘Kaun Banega Pradhanmantri’ on Star News.
Said Avinash Pandey, CEO, ABP Network: “We are thrilled to have Sandeep back with us. His wealth of experience and journalistic prowess perfectly align with our vision of delivering credible and insightful news to our viewers. We are confident that his presence will enhance our news programming and resonate with our audience. We extend a warm welcome to him and look forward to achieving greater milestones together.”
ABP Network has appointed Rupali Fernandes as its Chief Revenue Officer with immediate effect. Fernandes will be responsible for the organisation’s revenue efforts across ABP Network channels, live events, and digital platforms. She will report to Avinash Pandey, CEO of ABP Network.
Fernandes has worked with various organisations including Matrix Talent Management, HT Media, Disney Star, BAG Network, and The Indian Express. In her most recent role as Head – Brand Partnership at Matrix, she managed brand partnerships and celebrity endorsements for talent across films, music, and sports. She has also worked with influencers for digital associations for short-term engagement across D2C brands.
Speaking about the appointment, Avinash Pandey, CEO of ABP Network, said: “We are thrilled to have Rupali join our ABP Network family. She brings a wealth of experience to our organisation that perfectly aligns with our values and vision. As a key addition to our leadership team, she will play a vital role in shaping our future plans and driving our growth strategy. We eagerly look forward to her valuable contributions, as we continue to innovate and deliver unparalleled value to our audiences and partners.”
Added Rupali Fernandes, Chief Revenue Officer, ABP Network: “It is an honour for me to join ABP Network, a leading media company, where I am looking forward to contributing to its next phase of growth and transformation,”
Rupali has Graduated from Mumbai University and has done Business Management in Marketing from SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS).
ABP Network has appointed Saurabh Yagnik as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) with P&L responsibilities. Yagnik will be reporting to Avinash Pandey, CEO of ABP Network.
Speaking on the appointment, Pandey said: “We are delighted to welcome Saurabh to the ABP Network family. His impressive track record and vast experience in the media industry will be a valuable asset as we continue to grow and expand our reach across the country. I am confident that Saurabh’s leadership skills, combined with his deep knowledge of media and consumer insights, will help us achieve our strategic goals and take ABP Network to new heights.”
Said Yagnik: “I am excited to join ABP Network, a leading media conglomerate and look forward to working and contributing towards the growth of the company and delighting viewers and stakeholders as the company moves to its next phase of growth and transformation.”
Avinash Pandey, CEO of ABP Network, will chair the Broadcaster Jury at the Abby One Show Awards 2023. The Abby Awards will be held on May 24-26 at Goafest 2023.
Pandey is President of the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) and also the President of the International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter. He is also the Director of the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) and a former Director of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF).
Said Pandey on his appointment: “Being part of the Broadcaster jury for ‘Abby One Show Awards’ gives me an opportunity to reflect on the state of the media, the only business perhaps where truth is tested every minute, every day, every year.”
ABP Network has announced the launch of its all six TV news channels – ABP News, ABP Ganga, ABP Asmita, ABP Sanjha, ABP Majha, and ABP Ananda – on Samsung TV Plus, the free, ad-supported service from Samsung. This partnership is expected to provide viewers with another touchpoint to connect with the award-winning content and unbiased journalism that ABP Network has delivered over the last two decades.
This partnership is expected to provide viewers with a seamless TV viewing experience and access to a wide range of content. With Samsung TV Plus at the forefront of streaming services in India, ABP Network is poised to extend its reach and provide its content to a broader range of viewers.
Commenting on the partnership, Vijay Jung Thapa, Chief Digital Officer, ABP Network, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Samsung TV Plus to bring our channels to their viewers. This is a great opportunity for us to expand our reach and make our content available to a wider audience. At ABP Network, we take pride in delivering programming that promises the highest quality and depth. We are confident that our viewers will appreciate the rich and diverse content that we bring to their screens. Our commitment to excellence is unwavering, and we are excited to forge a long and successful partnership with Samsung TV Plus.”
Added Kunal Mehta, Head Business Development, Samsung TV Plus India: “We are excited to welcome ABP Network’s channels to our platform,” “Samsung TV Plus is committed to providing its viewers with a wide range of content choices, and this partnership with ABP Network is a testament to that commitment. We believe that our viewers will appreciate the quality and depth of ABP Network’s programming, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership with them.”
ABP Network’s Second Edition of ‘Ideas of India Summit’ Concluded successfully.
Second edition of “Ideas of India” Summit concluded on a high note with the notable presence of Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways of India. While emphasizing on reducing carbon footprints, Gadkari said: “Hydrogen is our future fuel and India’s future vehicles will run on hydrogen and green fuels.” The two-day summit witnessed discussions on a wide range of ideas over 40 sessions and highlighted the prevailing issues in the country related to geo-political tension, inflation, culture, mobility, and young entrepreneurs shaping the role of India in the future world.”
The second edition of ‘Ideas of India’ Summit celebrated the theme of ‘Naya India: Looking Inward, Reaching Out’ with notable politicians, celebrities, industrialists and entertainers, eminent leaders including Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister of the UK, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann; Poet Javed Akhtar to tech and business innovation icon N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder Infosys.
The list extended to superstars such as Ayushman Khurrana, Sara Ali Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, and Rishi Singh, vocalists and sports players such as Jawala Gutta, Ashwini Nachappa, Joshna Chinappa, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and Vinesh Phogat, Mahmood Mamdani; Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO, Ola Cabs social activist Nandita Das and Mira Nair, young acting and social media sensations Kriti Sanon, Yami Gautam, Saloni Gaur, RJ Karishma and Meethika Dwivedi.
On Day-1 of the session, Truss stressed on India’s greater role in the UN Security Council and said, “India and UK need to back each other more closely on trade, and investment and need to make sure both the countries work together on critical supply chains. We are investing more in green energy, like solar panels. These economic decisions will affect freedom and democracy in future. We are looking forward to the India-UK trade deal finishing as soon as possible.”
Speaking on EV targets by 2030, Gadkari said, “In the coming years India will certainly shift to electric vehicles. “We import Rs. 16 lakh crore worth of fossil fuel every year but pretty soon our farmers will produce green fuel and green hydrogen,” he said adding that Lithium ion batteries will lead the shift from petrol and diesel driven cars.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw laid down the roadmap of the future of Indian Railway with tech integration and new projects of railways including Bullet Train and Vande Bharat, he said: “PM Modi wants seamless integration of every mode of transport at railway stations and creation of urban spaces. Stations should be designed like city centers. So, we took around 50 designs and made a 2.5-hour presentation for PM Modi. But he was not happy. He said these designs are good for today. But I want a design that would be relevant even 50 years later. That’s PM Modi’s vision.”
At the end Avinash Pandey, CEO ABP Network concluded the event and thanked all the speakers, guests and dignitaries. He said, “The summit will be back next year and promised it will be “even bigger and better.”
ABP Network is set to launch its second edition of ‘Ideas of India’ Summit from February 24-25 in Mumbai. The theme for this year’s edition is Naya India: Looking Inward, Reaching Out. The summit brings together on one stage: one platform, the brightest minds cutting across sectors from within and beyond the borders of the country.
ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey said: “The inaugural edition of ABP Network’s ‘Ideas of India, in 2022, turned out to be a huge success, not just in terms of how many people watched it, across our network, but more importantly what the forum meant as an intellectual exchange of diverse ideas. It was evident to me that this was an idea that was worth sticking with, because ABP Ideas of India event is not just a summit, it is a platform that represents and extends the pluralism that is the ethos of India. A true democracy, like India, is a grand idea built on the churning of a million smaller ones, pulling and pushing together as a single unit. I am happy to announce that with ABP Network’s ‘Ideas of India Summit 2023’, this is officially now an annual platform of that churning of ideas, that will contribute to the defining of tomorrow’s India. The 2023 summit is all about the making of a Naya India as we look inward while reaching out to the world.”
The 2-day event, in Mumbai, this year will primarily address the question – Where does India stand at this moment in history, with its burgeoning economy successfully tackling the energy divisions of yet another war in Europe, with a post pandemic recalibrating world looking up to her as a global leader and a whole new generation of Indians impatient to lead across sectors? The speaker list of thought leaders, business icons, cultural ambassadors, and politicians addressing this vital question is long and varied. It extends from Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister of UK to Indian Chief Ministers like Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann and Eknath Shinde; From novelist and champion of environment Amitav Ghosh to tech and business innovation icon N.R Narayana Murthy; from internationally acclaimed academician and author Mahmood Mamdani to the highly amiable Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari or the Central Minister in-charge of ensuring connectivity, be it Railways or IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw. The world of arts and cinema will have yesteryear heartthrobs like Zeenat Aman and Asha Parekh as well as a social messaging movie superstar like Ayushmann Khurrana. Ideas of guts and grit of a fighting women will be shared by Vinesh Phogat, Ashwini Nachappa, Jwala Gutta, Joshna Chinappa while education path breakers like ‘Khan Sir’ and ‘NV Sir’ will talk about a young India gaining useful knowledge. International film directors Mira Nair and Shekhar Kapur will be there as will be the versatile actor, Manoj Bajpayee; Devdutt Pattanaik will bring alive the myths of the past as someone like Lucky Ali makes the connection between music and words. From celebrity chef Vikas Khanna sharing ingredients of his cooking mantra to young political heavy weights Poonam Mahajan, K Kavitha, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Raghav Chadha expounding on their individual political party’s recipe for the elections ahead, the summit is all set to deliberate the paths to a vibrant destiny for a new India.
ABP Ideas of India 2023, with 40 odd sessions and more than 60 speakers, is designed to be an intense and thought-provoking experience that celebrates the strengths that make Naya India the nation that it is as the country reaches out to take its rightful place in the world of tomorrow. ABP Ideas of India Summit 2023 will be available for viewing, on both days of 24th and 25th February, across all the different digital and broadcast platforms of the entire ABP Network.
ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey was elected President of the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) for the year 2022-23. Abhishek Karnani, Director, Free Press Journal Group, was elected Vice President, Nandini Dias, former CEO of Lodestar UM, is. Secretary and Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Another Idea, is Treasurer. Immediate Past President Megha Tata will also be on the Managing Committee.
Other members of the mancom are Srinivasan K Swamy (Chairman & Managing Director, R K Swamy Pvt Ltd), Shreyams Kumar (Managing Director, Mathrubhumi Group), Prasanth Kumar (CEO-South Asia, GroupM), Anant Goenka (Executive Director, The Indian Express Group) and Janak Sarda (Managing Director, Deshdoot Media Group).
The members co-opted at the first Managing Committee meeting were Nina Elavia Jaipuria (Head – Hindi and Kids TV Network, Viacom18), Neeraj Roy, (Founder, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment), Pradeep Dwivedi (Group CEO, Eros Media World PLC), Kranti Gada (President – New Business Opportunities Shemaroo Entertainment) and I.Venkat (Director, Eenadu Group.)
ABP Network has launched a promotional campaign for its ABP Live Smart TV app. The app, which is available on Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, LG Smart TV and other platforms offers a range of advanced features that make it a must-have for any Indian television viewers.
Adds a communique: “The new promotional campaign is designed with highlighting special features specifically for news viewing enthusiasts. The campaign encourages users to watch all ABP Network channels on a single platform. It further offers them to pause and repeat any part of a show or news on the smart TV app and, also lets the viewers watch their favourite show at a time convenient to them. The new promotional campaign is a reminder of ABP Network’s ongoing commitment to making television accessible to everyone.”
Marathi news channel ABP Majha, from the house of ABP Network, has completed 15 years on air. ABP Majha was launched on June 22, 2007, as Star Majha and later renamed as ABP Majha.
Its flagship talkshow Majha Katta, which started in 2012, recently completed its 10 years with a special on-ground conclave – Majha Maha Katta. Notes a communique: “ABP Majha has also taken up various social causes. It’s extensive programming on issues like Draughts, Dowry, School Education, Swachh Maharashtra, Digital Maharashtra, Farmers and Agriculture and COVID management have earned support and backing of their viewers. ABP Majha has also partnered with NGOs like CRY and UN bodies including UNICEF, to organise donation drives like Bappa Majha Dukhharta Balkancha and a special drive with UNICEF to support the families affected by the pandemic.”
ABP Network has appointed Sameer Rao as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ABP Creations Pvt. Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd. Rao has a wide-ranging experience of two decades in television, film, and digital platforms. He will be operating from ABP Network’s Mumbai office.
Commenting on Sameer’s appointment, Avinash Pandey, CEO of ABP Network, said: “We are pleased to welcome Sameer Rao to the ABP Network family. We are certain that with his expertise and accomplishments, he will take ABP Creations Pvt. Ltd. to greater heights. In this dynamic period of digital growth, his vision will perfectly align with our goals for ABP Creations Pvt. Ltd. I believe that over time, his knowledge, and ingenuity will further contribute to the organization’s success.”
