Ferzad Palia to move on from Viacom18

Senior EVP Ferzad Palia has been instrumental in scaling JioCinema’s subscription business, helping it grow to nearly 20 million subscribers within just six months of its launch

by e4m Staff
Published: Nov 8, 2024 4:31 PM | 2 min read

Ferzad Palia will be moving on from his role of Senior Executive Vice President at Viacom18, e4m has learned from sources.

Palia has over 20 years of leadership at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd and has played a role in driving growth across digital, subscription, and content services.

He has been the Senior EVP and Business Head of JioCinema since April 2023. In this role, he has been instrumental in scaling JioCinema’s subscription business.

As the head of the Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) and B2B business, his responsibilities include revenue generation, user growth, marketing, strategic planning, analytics and programming.

He also led the launch of JioCinema’s ad-supported entertainment service in 2023.

Before his role at JioCinema, he held the position of Sr. EVP & Head of SVOD & International Business from May 2019 to March 2023. In this capacity, he launched and led Voot Select, Viacom18’s first direct-to-consumer (D2C) business.

He was also responsible for the company’s strategic foray into sports broadcasting, securing high-profile rights, including those for the FIFA World Cup.

Earlier in his career, from January 2016 to April 2019, Palia served as Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Youth, Music & English Entertainment at Viacom18.

During this period, he spearheaded the restructuring of the Youth & Music business to capitalize on new opportunities at the intersection of technology, content and consumer engagement. He led the launch of MTV Beats, a music channel.

Palia joined Viacom18 in 2004 as the Senior VP and General Manager at Vh1 India. Prior to Viacom18, he also worked with CNBC TV18 and J. Walter Thompson Worldwide.