Viacom18 appoints Jyoti Deshpande as CEO

Viacom18 announced on Thursday that Jyoti Deshpande has been appointed as CEO of the company with immediate effect. Deshpande has already been serving on the boards of Network 18 and investee firms – Balaji Telefilms and Saavn Media.

Deshpande’s appointment has made her one of the first women CEOs of a leading Indian integrated media company, explained the firm in an official statement.

“In her new assignment, Jyoti will help bring synergies across all of Reliance’s media interests and investments and further equip the company to drive significant growth opportunities as the industry embraces digital transformation,” read the statement.

Deshpande has over 27 years of experience in the media and entertainment business. She had joined Reliance Industries in 2018 as President – Media Platform & Content.

Before joining Reliance Industries. Deshpande served as the MD and CEO of Indian film studio Eros International. She pioneered the firm’s entry into the OTT space via Eros Now.

As a business leader in Reliance, Jyoti has in the last three years leveraged her industry relationships to establish Jio Studios as a key player in the media value chain, the company said.

Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, Network18 said, “Viacom18 is poised to grow as a truly integrated media company across broadcast, OTT and content studio business spanning general entertainment, movies and sports across languages. Given Jyoti’s rich experience in the media sector around content, distribution and monetisation across traditional and emerging platforms, we believe she is best placed to lead the company and its operations.” Business Today