Disney Star has undergone a significant internal reshuffle following the departure of senior executive Kevin Vaz in April. The restructuring aims to streamline operations and create a more efficient approach within the organization.
In an internal email seen by Livemint, K Madhavan, Disney Star’s country manager, announced several leadership changes to employees. Gaurav Banerjee, who already leads Disney+Hotstar, has been given additional responsibility for overseeing Star Bharat, the Hindi and English movies cluster, kids and infotainment, and the Eastern regional portfolio comprising Star Jalsha and Star Kiran. Banerjee will continue to report to Madhavan.
Sumanta Bose will now lead content for Disney+ Hotstar Hindi specials, while Krishnan Kutty has been appointed as the business and content head for Disney+Hotstar’s specials category in the South and Marathi portfolio. Kutty will report directly to Madhavan, while Bose will report to Banerjee with an additional reporting line to Sajith Sivanandan, the head of Disney+ Hotstar.
Mani Rangarajan will assume complete oversight of the technology and operations verticals for the Disney cluster. Vivek Dhaimade, the head of traffic and presentation, and Gajendra Tijare, the head of broadcast technology and operations, will report to Rangarajan.
Furthermore, Minakshi Achan, the head of creative communications, has been given the additional responsibility of social listening.
The restructuring comes at a time when Disney Star faces renewed competition from Reliance-backed JioCinema and a tug of war over cricket streaming rights with Viacom18. Disney Star lost 4.6 million subscribers between February 2023 and April 2023. However, the focus on vernacular content by Disney+Hotstar continues to yield positive results, distinguishing it from other global players struggling to increase subscribers despite offering affordable plans.
While Disney+Hotstar works towards padding revenues and reducing losses, its net losses declined by 43% year-on-year to INR 343.16 crore in the financial year 2021-22, and operating revenue surged by 93% to INR 3,220.41 crore during the same period.
The internal reshuffle reflects Disney Star’s commitment to adapt and thrive in the evolving landscape of the Indian entertainment industry.
