Why is TV News seeing unprecedented leadership churn?

India’s television news industry is witnessing an unprecedented churn at the top. In the past two years, at least four to five leading news networks have changed CEOs, editors-in-chief or executive leadership, in some cases more than once. What was once a sector known for long tenures and powerful corner offices is now marked by short stints, rapid exits and constant resets.

ABP has already seen the change with the joining of a new CEO. In June 2024, Avinash Pandey moved on after a long stint. A new CEO in Sumanta Dutta was brought in from the non-news domain.

Network18 is in the middle of a reset too. Avinash Kaul has stepped down recently; he was at Network 18 for 11 years. However, Avinash Kaul's boss is firmly in the saddle, Rahul Joshi who is MD and Group Editor-in-Chief for has been at helm of Network 18 for 8 plus years. Zee Media has changed two CEOs within 16 months. NDTV has a new CEO and editor in chief. This is only the visible layer of a much deeper churn underway across India’s broadcast news industry. Kartikeya Sharma promoted ITV Group also saw Abhay Ojha moving on from ITV Group in a short span of less than a year after spending a long stint at Zee Media. Rishab Gulati who is Editor in Chief of News X was made CEO of News X in addition to his editorial responsibility.

When Rahul Kanwal moved to NDTV as CEO and editor-in-chief after spending nearly 22 years at the India Today Group in April 2025, it marked more than a career shift. It underlined how rare long tenures at the top of news television have become.

Almost a week ago, Avinash Kaul stepped down as CEO of Network18 Broadcast and Managing Director of A+E Networks after nearly 11 plus years with the group. 

Rahul Shivshankar was Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Director of TIMES NOW, and then as Editor in Chief Of News X. Shivshankar with his on screen presence and as an editorial strategist has established himself amongst the most respected anchors and editors in the news domain in India. In September 2023, he joined CNN News 18 as an editorial consultant and later he was appointed from a consultant to a full time role in an editorial leadership role, signalling the ambition of the Network18 group to have a competitive edge in the race with NDTV after Rahul Kanwal's appointment as Editor in Chief and Group CEO.

Rahul Joshi's move to give the reins of CNN News 18 to Rahul Shivshankar seems like a move to bolster the channel with an experienced hand as leader as the race between Ambani-owned and Adani-owned channels heats up. 

ABP veteran Avinash Pandey, who had been with the network since 2005, quit the media network in 2024, and joined Laqshya Media Group as Director in January 2025. Subsequently Avinash Pandey joined IBDF as its Secretary General. Sumanta Datta took over the baton at ABP as CEO after Pandey.

Zee Media Corporation Limited offers another telling case. Karan Abhishek Singh moved on from his role as chief executive officer after a tenure of just about 15 months, having taken charge in July 2024. Singh had earlier spent more than five years at Network18 Media and Investments, where he played a defining leadership role. In November 2025, Zee Media appointed TV9’s Raktim Das as its new CEO and key managerial personnel, marking yet another reset at the top of a legacy broadcast network. Before Karan Abhishek Singh , Abhay Ojha was CEO of Zee Network for a reasonably long time.

Sudhir Chaudhary, former CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Zee News, moved to Aaj Tak to host his prime-time show, before turning entrepreneur by setting up a production company. He went on to produce a prime-time show for Doordarshan, attracting new viewers to the channel.

The one exception to this churn broadly has been India Today group except one or two senior executives like Rahul Kanwal and Rahul Shaw moving on there haven't been many senior level exits . Rajat Uppal head of radio and live events had also moved on and joined ABP network to start a new events business for ABP.

The churn is not limited to one network or one phase. Even the Times Group has reconfigured its leadership bench. Ashish Sehgal was appointed CEO of Times TV Network and chief growth officer of Times Media and Entertainment after nearly two decades at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, most recently as chief growth officer for broadcast and digital. The move reflected how sharply the industry is rethinking leadership profiles in a fast changing environment. 

Sanjay Pugalia, former Editor-in-Chief and Group CEO of NDTV, who helped steady NDTV group in early days of transition from the Roy's to AMG, also moved into a group brand custodian at the mammoth Adani Group while remaining the Group CEO of AMG.

In September 2025, Bharat Express announced the return of Varun Kohli as its director and group CEO. Following his departure from Bharat Express in 2024, Kohli joined Times Network as COO, where he oversaw operations and strategic initiatives for almost 15 months. Varun Kohli before this had spent 8 years at the ITV group.

Abhay Ojha moved on from iTV-Network after a stint of 9 months in August 2025. Ojha was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for TV, Print, Digital and Sports League Business of ITV network. 

Harsh Bhandari also quit Republic TV as its CEO after being with the network for almost 8 plus years in July 2025. Harsh had succeeded Vikas Khanchandani. Before that Vikas Khanchandani was Ceo at Republic from Jan 2017 till April 2022 spent almost 7 years at Republic Network.

Rabindra Narayan stepped down from his role as President and Managing Director of PTC Network in 2025. After nearly two decades at the helm of India’s leading Punjabi media house, Narayan announced plans to become an entrepreneur by launching a new global media conglomerate.

These are not isolated moves. They point to a structural shake up underway across television news.

From newsroom clout to boardroom heat

For decades, leadership at news channels was built around editorial heft, political capital and distribution muscle. That equation is now changing rapidly.

Across leading news channels, the spike in senior level exits is not random, says an industry HR expert speaking off the record. “The business is under intense pressure. TRPs, advertising revenues and overall performance are being scrutinised far more sharply than before. CEOs are directly in the line of fire with very little insulation.”

What has changed materially over the last two to three years is ownership and governance. He mentioned, “With new business families and large corporate boards stepping in, reviews have shifted decisively from editorial conversations to hard financial metrics.”

Today, it is about P&L, top line, bottom line and cost control, the spokesperson says. For leaders who grew up in an older ecosystem, that shift is proving uncomfortable. Add to that the intensity of board level questioning and a management style many have not encountered earlier, and burnout at the top has become common.

In several cases, exits are less about failure and more about misalignment between board expectations and what leaders believe is realistically achievable in a slowing and fragmented news market.

The ad business behind the bulletin

Another layer intensifying the pressure is the sharp shift in the advertising landscape over the last three years. Startups, once among the most aggressive advertisers on television news, have sharply reduced spends as funding has slowed and priorities have shifted from customer acquisition to profitability. Gaming companies, which were big-ticket advertisers for news channels, have also pulled back significantly.

The broader macro environment has not helped either. The election-heavy calendar of 2024, followed by a series of state elections, temporarily distorted advertising flows but did not result in sustained growth. At the same time, advertiser budgets are increasingly moving towards platforms like Meta and Google, even as digital and connected TV consumption continues to rise, fragmenting traditional TV audiences.

All of this is playing out against a structurally cost-heavy television news business model, where fixed costs remain high but revenue visibility has weakened, further tightening the screws on leadership performance and board expectations.

CEO or chief everything officer?

Another driver of churn is the changing definition of leadership itself.

A leading media house’s CHRO says the traditional silos inside news organisations are collapsing. Product, technology, video and editorial will all roll up to top level executives, making them accountable not just for content but for the overall business performance of their verticals.

This has significantly expanded the CEO’s remit. Today’s broadcast leader is expected to deliver ratings, monetisation, digital growth, technology transformation and newsroom credibility at the same time and under relentless scrutiny.

At a broader industry level, the churn is being driven by technology led disruption and the need to realign leadership structures for an AI driven, digital first future. As the industry enters 2026, companies are reassessing how they are organised and whether their leadership models are aligned with where growth will come from. That reassessment is inevitably resulting in leadership exits, particularly at senior levels.

For some executives, the role has simply become too broad, too exposed and too unforgiving.

Reset season, not exit season

Industry veterans argue that the timing of the churn matters as much as the churn itself.

Everybody in the industry has to relook at their business models, says a top level broadcast executive. Cost structures will tighten and expenses will come down. What is playing out in the first months of the year, with people moving in and out of leadership roles, is a direct outcome of that reset.

At Network18, the core leadership team has changed and more changes will happen wherein internal leaders will be promoted as network 18 has a huge bench strength of leaders and Rahul Joshi has been MD and CEO and Group Editor in Chief for 8 years. ABP is in the middle of a transition. Zee Media has already gone through a CEO switch. Similar resets are underway, sometimes quietly and sometimes publicly, across most major news networks.

This phase typically accelerates as broadcasters close one financial year and prepare for the next. What happened in the previous year has happened. The focus now shifts to course correction.

Going forward, leadership decisions will increasingly be driven by two factors. Credibility and business sustainability. Channels are reassessing what worked, what did not, and how their editorial and commercial models must evolve to remain viable.

Can news channels slow the churn?

The larger question is whether this level of attrition is sustainable or even avoidable.

Most industry insiders believe the churn will not settle anytime soon. In fact, 2026 could see deeper restructuring, leaner organisations and job losses, not just in media but across sectors, as technology and AI accelerate change.

Some leaders are choosing to step away altogether, even beyond the media, the industry spokesperson says. This year is going to be decisive. Anything that worked in the past, from business models to operating structures and newsroom culture, will need a serious reset.

For news channels to retain leadership, they will need to offer clearer mandates, realistic timelines and stronger alignment between editorial ambition and commercial pressure. Without that, even experienced executives may find the cost of staying higher than the cost of leaving.

For now, one thing is clear. In Indian TV news, the corner office is no longer a safe seat. It is a high pressure role with very little margin for error.