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Nikhil Gandhi to head revenue at Times Network

Gandhi, who moves from Disney India, is slated to replace Ashit Kukian, President, Revenue, who joined Times Network in November 2015

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Nikhil Gandhi to head revenue at Times Network

Nikhil Gandhi to head revenue at Times Network

Gandhi, who moves from Disney India, is slated to replace Ashit Kukian, President, Revenue, who joined Times Network in November 2015

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | March 2, 2017

Nikhil Gandhi & Ashit Kukian (L-R) Nikhil Gandhi & Ashit Kukian

Times Network has found a new revenue head in Nikhil Gandhi who quit Disney India as Vice-President and Head of Revenue, Media Networks, in December last year after spending a decade with the company.

Gandhi and Times Network could not be reached to confirm the development but highly placed sources in the industry told BestMediaInfo.com that Gandhi is slated to replace Ashit Kukian, President, Revenue, who joined Times Network in November 2015. When contacted, Kukian denied any such development.

However, after BestMediaInfo.com broke the story, Times Network issued a formal press statement ratifying both the developments reported by us. The network announced the appointment of Gandhi as President – Revenue who will report to MD and CEO MK Anand. His key responsibility will be growth of profitable monetisation of the entire bouquet of channels under Times Network.

MK Anand MK Anand

Commenting on Gandhi's appointment, Anand said, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Nikhil into the Times Network family as President – Revenue. His strong leadership skills, people management abilities and operational expertise along with his extensive background in the M&E space will definitely add value to Times Network. Nikhil embodies the Action Orientation that Times Network is known for and is a great business leader.”

“Ashit Kukian has decided to move on and pursue other opportunities and we would like to wish him all the best for his future endeavour,” he added.

Commenting on his new role, Gandhi said, “Leading the revenue vertical of a network that is growing and leading the Media and Entertainment space is exciting. My efforts will be to propel Times Network to greater heights and achieve the business objectives.”

Interestingly, both Gandhi and Kukian were part of the core team at Times Network that launched Zoom in 2004.

This was Kukian's second stint with Times Network after a hiatus of 10 years. He has had a 13-year stint with Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (BCCL) in the past when he managed several important roles including Zoom Television. He went on to serve Radio City 91.1 FM as President and Chief Operating Officer for 10 years.

At Disney India, Gandhi was responsible for generating revenue and creating profitability across all the eight channels in the Disney India bouquet which include youth channels Bindass and Bindass Play; kids channels Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD and Hungama TV; and movies channels UTV Movies and UTV Action. He was looking into the ad sales opportunities for the cluster along with leading both the domestic and international distribution arm of the Media Networks business.

Gandhi also spearheaded the unique media solutions division called Disney Media Plus that offers commercial opportunities generated by the Disney universe in India in addition to creating specialized properties under the bindass brand.

Gandhi comes with more than 15 years of experience in the media and entertainment business. Prior to joining UTV in 2007 which later became a part of Disney India after acquisition, Gandhi had stints with Zoom Television as Regional Head West, MTV and Times Response (Times Group).

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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