Tarun Katial (born 7 January 1975) is an Indian media executive and business professional, known for his work in Indian television. He is the Founder and CEO at coto and served as CEO of Reliance Broadcast Network and ZEE5 (2018–2020).[1] He was a founder and CEO of Big FM.

Tarun Katial
Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Broadcast Network
Former
In office
2006–2018
Chief Executive Officer of ZEE5
Former
In office
May 2018 – November 2020
Personal details
Born (1975-01-07) 7 January 1975 (age 49)
Chandigarh, India
SpouseMonisha Singh Katial
OccupationExecutive, CEO
AwardsIndian Telly Awards (2002)

He is now an investor in the media-tech space and also invests in and actively mentors edutech and media-tech businesses. Results and Outcomes,[2] Genius Inside,[3] Serendpity MediaTech,[4] Lomotif are some of the ventures. He was a Senior Advisor at Lomotif during the sale for 120 million.[5]

He is the Founder & CEO of Eve World,[6] a Web3 social community platform for women. The platform aims to build a responsible virtual environment that curates a positive and valuable digital experience for women worldwide.

Katial began his career at Saatchi & Saatchi, Enterprise Nexus Lowe and Ogilvy & Mather, and later moved to Star Network, headed several channels across the networks in India before moving to Sony Entertainment Television as its business head in 2004. He received the Indian Telly Awards in 2002 for Best TV Programming Executive of The Year category. The next year, he was nominated for same award for Best TV Programming Head of the Year category.

Life and career

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Tarun Katial was born on 7 January 1975. He studied Master of Management (MBA) from University of Mumbai. He started his career as a media trainee at Saatchi & Saatchi, and later became a media executive at Enterprise Nexus Lowe and Ogilvy & Mather, senior vice-president of Star Plus. He worked as a business head and executive vice-president of Sony Entertainment Television.[7][8]

He was head of channels at Star Network before joining the Sony Pictures as business head and executive vice-president in 2004. In 2006, He founded Big FM, a private radio station, where he worked as a COO and CEO for over 12 years.[9][8][10][11]

He worked as a CEO of Reliance Broadcast Network till 2016. In November 2016, he joined ZEE5, and became its CEO in May 2018. He resigned his position from ZEE5 in November 2020.[12][8][13][14][15]

Works

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Katial was responsible for several successful Indian television shows which include Indian Idol, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Bigg Boss, Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin.[9] Under his leadership, ZEE5, hosted over 100 programs in various genres and languages.[12]

While working as CEO of Reliance Broadcast Network, he founded the BIG Star Entertainment Awards in 2010 in collaboration with Star India.[16] In 2019, Katial participated in the 24th Paley International Council Summit, and became the first Indian CEO from the OTT industry to speak at the Paley International Council Summit.[17]

Personal life

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Katial is married with Monisha Singh Katial.[9]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Ref.
2002 Indian Telly Awards TV Programming Executive of The Year Won [18]
2003 Indian Telly Awards Indian Telly Award for Best TV Programming Head of the Year Nominated

References

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  1. ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarunkatial[self-published source]
  2. ^ "Tarun Katial's New Venture Results & Outcomes partners with MICA". ADgully.com. ADgully. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Priya Kumar, Puneet Johar, Tarun Katial launch AI-powered platform Genius Inside". exchange4media.com. exchange4media. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Tarun Katial, Keertan Adyanthaya launch Serendipity Media Technology". CampaignIndia.in. Campaign India. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  5. ^ Laghate, Gaurav (2 August 2021). "Short-format video app Lomotif ropes in Tarun Katial, Ken Cheung as senior advisors". The Economic Times. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  6. ^ Laghate, Gaurav (29 October 2021). "Tarun Katial raises funds from Jungle Ventures for women-centric platform Eve World". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  7. ^ Roy, Saumya (1 December 2007). "Tarun Katial". Mint. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Tarun Katial resigns as chief executive of ZEE5". The Hindu BusinessLine. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Sapam, Bidya (2 February 2020). "Tarun Katial - On the binge". Mint. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Tarun katial to take care of sony TV creative content". Business Line. 10 January 2004.
  11. ^ "Big FM launched". The Hindu. Chennai. 29 September 2006. p. 1.
  12. ^ a b "Tarun Katial steps down as CEO of ZEE5 India". The Financial Express. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  13. ^ Jha, Lata (21 May 2018). "Tarun Katial appointed as India CEO of ZEE5". Mint. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  14. ^ Jha, Lata (18 November 2020). "Tarun Katial quits ZEE5". mint. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Tarun Katial steps down as CEO of ZEE5 India". The Free Press Journal. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  16. ^ "RBNL-STAR come together to present Big Star Entertainment Awards". Media Mughals. 16 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  17. ^ "ZEE5 india's tarun katial to speak at 24th paley international council summit". Indiantelevision.com. 13 November 2019. ProQuest 2314042410.
  18. ^ "The Bajaj Boxer Indian Telly Awards 2002 Winners of the Popular categories". Indian Television. 1 November 2002. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
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