K. Anand Raman Joins SPNI as Senior Vice President

Raman has taken up his new position as Senior Vice President at Sony Pictures Networks India after concluding his tenure with JioStar.

He announced the move through a professional social-media update.

The appointment adds significant advertising-sales experience to SPNI as broadcasters increasingly compete for advertising budgets across linear television, connected TV and digital platforms.

Raman has worked with major national advertisers and media agencies across multiple television genres during his career.

Raman Moves From JioStar

Immediately before joining SPNI, Raman served as Vice President at JioStar.

He held the position from November 2024 until September 2026.

JioStar brought together major entertainment and sports assets following the combination of Reliance Industries' Viacom18 businesses with the Indian media operations associated with Disney.

Working within that environment gave Raman experience in one of India's largest integrated television and digital-media businesses.

His move to SPNI places him within another major entertainment network competing for audiences and advertising expenditure across the country.

More Than Two Decades in Media Industry

Raman brings more than two decades of experience across India's media and entertainment industry.

Although television advertising represents the largest portion of his career, his professional background also includes radio, magazines and media planning.

This cross-media experience is increasingly relevant as advertisers move away from treating individual platforms independently.

Major brands now plan campaigns across television, streaming, connected TV, social media and other digital channels.

Media executives therefore need to understand both traditional reach-based advertising and increasingly data-driven digital monetisation.

Long Career With Star TV Network

Before JioStar, Raman spent a substantial part of his career at Star TV Network.

He joined Star in February 2008 as a Senior Executive and subsequently moved through a series of increasingly senior advertising-sales positions.

His roles included Assistant Manager – Group Head, Advertising Sales Manager, Regional Sales Head, Assistant Vice President and Director.

The progression gave him experience across revenue planning, client management, sales-team leadership and broader business strategy.

Star Movies Among His Early Responsibilities

During the earlier stages of his Star career, Raman worked on advertising sales for channels including Star Movies.

His responsibilities included airtime monetisation and relationships with advertisers and media agencies.

Television advertising sales requires broadcasters to balance inventory availability, audience delivery and pricing while maximising revenue.

Raman later took responsibility for revenue planning and team management as his role expanded.

This experience established the commercial foundation for his subsequent leadership positions.

National Geographic and Fox Life Added to Portfolio

As Regional Sales Head, Raman worked across National Geographic's television portfolio, including its standard-definition and high-definition channels, Nat Geo Wild and Fox Life.

His responsibilities included business and revenue planning as well as maximising advertising yield.

The portfolio exposed him to infotainment and lifestyle advertising categories in addition to mainstream entertainment.

Managing multiple channels also requires developing different commercial propositions for advertisers based on audience profiles and programming characteristics.

Experience With Star Maa Strengthened Regional Exposure

Raman later worked across the Star Maa portfolio following Star India's acquisition of the regional television network.

His responsibilities included channels such as Star Maa, Star Maa HD and Star Maa Music.

The role involved integrating teams and aligning regional operations with the broader commercial objectives of Star India.

Regional-language broadcasting has become increasingly important within India's media market as advertisers seek deeper penetration beyond the largest Hindi and English-speaking audiences.

Experience in regional markets can therefore be particularly valuable for broadcasters seeking national advertising relationships alongside local-market growth.

Advertising Sales Becomes More Complex

Raman joins SPNI as television advertising undergoes significant structural change.

Traditional linear television remains an important mass-reach medium in India, but advertisers increasingly allocate budgets across digital video and connected television.

Streaming services have also introduced new targeting and measurement capabilities.

Broadcasters are responding by creating advertising packages that extend across multiple screens and distribution platforms.

Commercial leaders increasingly need to coordinate traditional television inventory with digital opportunities rather than selling each medium independently.

Sony Operates Broad Entertainment Portfolio

Sony Pictures Networks India operates a broad portfolio of entertainment, sports and digital-media businesses.

Its television network includes general entertainment, movies, sports, children's and regional programming.

Sony LIV provides the group's digital streaming presence.

The combination gives SPNI multiple opportunities to work with advertisers across both linear and digital viewing environments.

Experienced sales leadership is important for converting that content portfolio into sustainable advertising revenue.

Sports Remains Important Advertising Category

Sports broadcasting represents another significant area within Sony's media operations.

Live sports can attract large audiences simultaneously, making premium events particularly valuable to advertisers.

The commercial opportunity extends beyond traditional television spots to sponsorships, digital integrations and branded content.

As sports consumption spreads across television and streaming platforms, broadcasters increasingly structure cross-platform advertising packages.

The broader evolution of sports monetisation is part of the increasingly complex market in which SPNI's advertising organisation operates.

Connected TV Changes Premium Audience Strategy

Connected television is becoming an increasingly important advertising channel in India.

Smart televisions and internet-connected streaming devices allow households to watch digital content on large screens while providing advertisers with targeting capabilities traditionally associated with online advertising.

This creates a hybrid market between conventional television and digital video.

For broadcasters, connected TV offers opportunities to monetise premium audiences while combining brand advertising with improved measurement and targeting.

Sales organisations consequently need expertise spanning both television and digital commercial models.

Regional Markets Remain Strategic

India's regional-language media market continues to play a major role in television advertising.

Brands seeking national scale often need strategies that combine Hindi, English and regional-language audiences.

Raman's experience across Star Maa and other regional responsibilities provides exposure to this aspect of the market.

Regional television can be particularly important for consumer brands seeking deeper penetration within individual states.

The ability to combine national advertiser relationships with regional-market understanding can therefore be commercially valuable.

Advertiser Relationships Central to Revenue Growth

Advertising sales remains fundamentally relationship-driven even as technology transforms the industry.

Large advertisers and media agencies manage substantial budgets across multiple channels and expect broadcasters to demonstrate audience reach, effectiveness and measurable value.

Senior sales executives play an important role in negotiating annual agreements and developing customised partnerships.

Raman's career has involved managing advertiser and agency relationships across several stages of India's media industry's evolution.

That experience will form an important part of his new responsibilities at SPNI.

Career Began Across Print and Media Planning

Before entering television broadcasting, Raman gained experience in other parts of the media industry.

He worked with Bennett Coleman & Co., the publisher of The Times of India, and the Chitralekha Group.

At Chitralekha, he handled advertiser relationships, advertising revenue and new-business development.

He also gained early exposure to media planning, giving him experience from the advertiser and agency side of the ecosystem.

These roles preceded his move into radio and subsequently television.

Radio City Added Broadcast Sales Experience

Raman worked as Key Account Manager at Radio City India from July 2006 to January 2008.

His responsibilities included sales strategy, new-business development and advertiser relationships.

Radio provided him with early experience in broadcast-media monetisation before he joined Star in 2008.

The combination of print, radio and television experience gives Raman a broad perspective on how advertising budgets have shifted between media formats over the past two decades.

Sony Strengthens Leadership Amid Industry Transformation

Raman's appointment comes as India's broadcasting sector adjusts to major changes in distribution, measurement and advertising.

Television networks are increasingly competing not only with each other but also with global streaming platforms, digital-video services and technology companies for advertising expenditure.

At the same time, regulatory changes and evolving audience-measurement systems are affecting how television reach is evaluated.

Broadcasters therefore need commercial strategies capable of connecting content, audiences and advertisers across an increasingly fragmented media environment.

Data and Measurement Become More Important

Advertising buyers increasingly expect measurable outcomes from media investments.

Digital advertising has accustomed marketers to detailed targeting and performance data.

Television broadcasters are consequently under pressure to demonstrate comparable levels of accountability while preserving television's advantages in reach and brand building.

Connected TV and streaming can help bridge this gap by providing more granular audience information.

Sales leaders will increasingly need to combine traditional media-selling expertise with data-driven commercial strategies.

SPNI Continues Building Leadership Team

Sony Pictures Networks India is led by Managing Director and CEO Gaurav Banerjee and maintains a leadership structure spanning content, technology, finance, legal affairs, human resources, sports and revenue.

Raman's appointment adds another experienced executive to the organisation's commercial operations.

His background across television genres, regional markets and advertising relationships provides experience relevant to SPNI's diverse content portfolio.

The move also continues the flow of senior talent between India's largest broadcasting groups as the industry adapts to consolidation and digital transformation.

Conclusion

Sony Pictures Networks India's appointment of K. Anand Raman as Senior Vice President brings a media executive with more than two decades of advertising-sales and revenue experience into the broadcaster's senior leadership structure.

Raman joins from JioStar, where he served as Vice President from November 2024 to September 2026, following a long career within the Star television network. His experience spans Star Maa, Star Movies, National Geographic, Fox Life, Radio City and earlier roles in print and media planning.

The appointment comes as India's advertising market becomes increasingly integrated across linear television, streaming and connected TV. Raman's extensive background in advertiser relationships, revenue planning and multi-genre broadcasting positions him to contribute to SPNI's commercial strategy during this transition.