Network18 retains Mitul Sangani

Hours after e4m reported that Mitul Sangani was set to step down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of News18 Digital, Network18 has moved to retain him, sources told e4m.

Read: Mitul Sangani steps down as CEO of News18 Digital

e4m has learnt that in an internal communication shared with his team on Wednesday, Network18 CEO Rahul Joshi indicated that Mitul Sangani will continue in his role at News18 Digital.

Sources further suggest that over the past two days—following Avinash Kaul’s resignation—Joshi has been closely engaged with the leadership team and is understood to have persuaded Sangani to stay on.

Earlier reports had indicated that Sangani could be exiting the role, with March 7, 2026 being cited as a possible last working day. However, sources now suggest that the company has decided to retain Sangani, putting to rest speculation around his departure.

Sangani, who took charge as CEO – News18 Digital in April 2025, has been a key architect of Network18’s digital news business.

Sangani was responsible for steering the overall business strategy of News18 Digital, with a focus on revenue growth, audience scale, engagement and brand reputation. Prior to this, he served as CEO of the Regional News Cluster across TV and digital, where he oversaw 15 Indian-language television news channels, including News18 India, along with their digital extensions. He also played a central role in scaling Local18, Network18’s hyperlocal news brand, positioning it as a key growth driver in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.

Sangani’s association with Network18 spans more than seven years, during which he held multiple senior leadership roles across digital operations, revenue, product, technology and data. As Chief Operating Officer – General News (Digital), and later as COO and Business Head for News18 Digital, he was instrumental in building and monetising the network’s general news portfolio across English and 12 Indian languages. His remit included delivering growth across users, engagement and advertising revenue, while driving synergies between television and digital teams across markets.

Before rejoining Network18 in 2018, Sangani was a founding member of Dailyhunt, where he served as Head of Advertising Sales. During his four-year tenure, he built the company’s sales organisation from the ground up and helped establish Dailyhunt in the non-English content segment.

Earlier in his career, Sangani held senior sales leadership roles at Moneycontrol, ibnlive.com and cricketnext.com, steadily building a reputation as a strong revenue and operations leader across digital media businesses.

When exchange4media reached out to Mitul Sangani for comment, he denied the development, stating that he continues to be with Network18. 

However, exchange4media has learnt that Sangani’s resignation was accepted in early December 2025 and he is expected to complete his exit formalities by March 2026 before moving on.

Sources further indicate that the management’s acceptance of Sangani’s decision to move on took place prior to Avinash Kaul submitting his resignation in mid-December 2025.