S Divaakar, who had worked in the capacity of AGM (Sales and Marketing) with TV9 Network, has moved on to a new Kannada news channel, owned and run by Writeman Media Pvt Ltd, as VP (Sales and Marketing).
Veteran journalist HR Ranganath, Chairman and Managing Editor, Writeman Media, said, “Divaakar brings with him an expertise in the business and quality to the team as a team member and not just as an employee. He is well-exposed to the regional market businesses and has additional experience in the national market. We needed someone who can understand the content going out to our viewers, thereby adding greater value in terms of bringing in business. We are also of the same wavelength.”
Commenting on his move, Divaakar said, “There is tremendous growth in the Kannada news channel space and HR Ranganath, former Editor of Kannada Prabha and then Suvarna News, is very good with content. So, it will be great to work with him. I will be responsible for setting up the entire team and taking off the business side of the channel.”
Divaakar has completed close to 18 years in the television industry. He began his career as a sales executive in Udaya TV when the channel was launched in 1994. Born and brought up in Bangalore, he has worked in Bangalore, Chennai, and Delhi for channels such as Gemini TV, Jaya TV, ETC, Zee Network, Sahara One, and Filmy, with his latest stint at TV9.
“I have handled business for the TV9 network for a little over four years. For three and a half years I was in Delhi handling business for the North and the East regions. My career took off 11 years ago when I was working in Corporate for Jaya TV. But, TV9 gave me a major break and working with them has been a great experience as they are a powerful brand.”
Clifford Pereira, Director, Associated Broadcasting Co Pvt Ltd, the holding company of TV9, said, “Divaakar joined us in 2007 at a time when we were expanding and had just launched TV9-Kannada. We were faced with the challenge of building the sales team. Though Divaakar is from Bangalore, I wanted him to head the team in Delhi and he took it up at once. Within a short span, he singlehandedly built up the business from the North, making it the highest contributing region in terms of ad revenues. He also built very good relations with advertisers and clients. His commitment to work is exemplary and unquestionable, his customer relations and interpersonal skills are excellent, and he is a wonderful human being. It gives me particular pride when I see colleagues go out after working with us and excelling elsewhere.”