Ajay Chacko appointed president of AETN18 Media

Ajay Chacko has been appointed as the president of AETN18 Media. Chacko will be based in Mumbai and will be responsible for the day-to-day operational, strategic and financial management of the recently formed joint venture between AETN and Network18. 

Commenting on Chacko's appointment, B. Saikumar, group chief operating officer, Network18 said, “The entertainment space in India is ripe for a new phase of growth and I believe that Ajay will play a significant role in making AETN18 a leader of that trend. I am confident of his ability to seed media brands, establish them and create leadership. This, coupled with his intimate understanding of the broadcast space will help AETN18 achieve the objective of creating India’s leading factual entertainment network and in the process, expand the genre.” 

Sean Cohan, senior vice president, AETN International, added, “Ajay brings a very successful track record as a leader and a wealth of knowledge about the Indian market to the venture. With him at the ‘helm’, we are well-positioned to realize our shared vision of strong and vibrant entertainment services in India.”

On his appointment, Ajay Chacko said, “I believe that the Indian factual entertainment opportunity is truly compelling, with the twin forces of evolving viewer tastes and digitization driving demand for such content to an inflection point. At AETN18, our focus will be to unleash the power of globally acclaimed brands such as History, BIO, Crime & Investigation Network with programming that resonates with Indian viewers. I’m looking forward to working with the business and content team in our journey to create India’s leading factual entertainment group.”

In career spanning over 15 years, Chacko has experience across a variety of roles in sales, marketing and general management within the media and entertainment and services industry. Prior to been appointed as the president of AETN18, he was with Network18. He has also worked with Sharekhan, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, India and the Indian Express Group.