Viacom18 Reshuffles Top Deck Ahead Of Disney India Merger

Ahead of its $8.5 Bn merger with Disney’s India unit, Reliance owned Viacom18 has undergone a significant top-level restructuring.

As part of the reshuffle, Kiran Mani, who was appointed as the chief executive of digital business of JioCinema, will now be leading the digital and sports segments, while Kevin Vaz who joined as the CEO of broadcast entertainment, will lead the entire content business, Mint reported.

Vaz will be responsible for content clusters for both linear TV and digital, including general entertainment, children’s content and live events. Besides, he will also lead the movie studio business under Viacom18 Studios. 

Meanwhile, Mani’s responsibilities will include digital product, subscriber management, advertisements, monetisation and influencer marketing. Additionally, sales of the linear sports channel will also be headed by Mani.

Also, Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jairaj, who used to report to the board will now be reporting to Mani.

“While Kiran is in charge of digital, tech and sports, all content is with Kevin. This has clearly ruffled some feathers and not all leaders are happy with the new structure. Already, the original leadership team of Viacom18 has seen massive changes over the last year,” the report said, citing a source close to the company. 

Viacom18 did not respond to Inc42’s queries on the matter.

This comes weeks after Reliance signed a pact with Walt Disney to take over its India business.  

Reliance is likely to own a 61% stake in the proposed merged entity, while Disney will hold 33%, leaving Bodhi Tree Systems with the remaining 6%. Additionally, Disney is expected to reduce its India exposure by diluting its stake in the merged entity. 

Both the entities are in the race for OTT and telecast rights of major sports events, including FIFA World Cup, ICC World Cup and IPL. Citing the dominance of Reliance-owned JioCinema in the digital content space, last year, Disney was reported to be looking for a potential buyer for its entire India business. It reportedly spoke with Gautam Adani and Sun TV Network’s Kalanithi Maran as well.