Prashant Shetty to join Zee Entertainment as Head of Ad Sales across linear and digital

Prashant Shetty, Executive Vice President – Ad Sales at JioStar, is set to join Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) as Head of Ad Sales, where he will lead the company's advertising revenue business across both linear television and digital platforms in all markets, according to people familiar with the development.

In his new role, Shetty will be responsible for driving Zee's integrated advertising strategy, overseeing monetisation across the broadcaster's television network and digital assets as the company sharpens its focus on offering unified advertising solutions to brands and agencies. His appointment comes at a time when media companies are increasingly adopting cross-platform sales strategies amid changing consumer viewing habits and growing advertiser demand for integrated audience solutions.

Prashant Shetty did not comment on the development.

Shetty's move also marks the end of an almost seven-year stint with JioStar, where he served as Executive Vice President – Ad Sales and was among the key leaders steering the broadcaster's advertising business. During his tenure, he played an instrumental role in strengthening strategic client partnerships and driving revenue growth across several marquee entertainment and sports properties.

Read related report on Shetty moving on from JioStar

With over 25 years of experience in media sales, advertising and broadcast monetisation, Shetty is regarded as one of the industry's seasoned revenue leaders. Throughout his career, he has worked across television, news, print, radio and digital businesses, building expertise in sales strategy, pricing, client partnerships and integrated advertising solutions.

Before assuming the role of Executive Vice President at JioStar, Shetty joined Star India in 2015 as Vice President for the Hindi General Entertainment Cluster (West Region). In that role, he was responsible for sales, pricing strategy and new business development across the network's Hindi entertainment portfolio.

He later moved to Sony Pictures Networks India in 2017 as Senior Vice President – Sales after the network acquired Hindi music channels Sony Mix and Rox HD. At Sony, he led monetisation for the broadcaster's music portfolio and worked on expanding advertiser relationships across key categories.

Earlier in his career, Shetty served as Assistant Vice President and West Region Head at NDTV, where he led advertising sales for the broadcaster's English news business and election programming. He also headed national revenue at Sakal Media Group, driving integrated multimedia advertising solutions and intellectual property-led revenue initiatives.

His career began in client servicing at Angel Broking before transitioning into media sales with Tata Infomedia. He subsequently held leadership positions at Star India across multiple stints and also served as Sales Head for Big 92.7 FM at Adlabs Films.

Over the years, Shetty has played a pivotal role in monetising some of India's biggest entertainment and sports franchises, working closely with advertisers, media agencies and brand marketers across sectors. His experience spans television, digital, branded content, sponsorships and integrated media partnerships, making him one of the industry's prominent advertising sales executives.

For Zee Entertainment, the appointment comes as the company continues to strengthen its revenue leadership and accelerate its cross-platform advertising capabilities. As advertisers increasingly seek unified campaigns spanning television and digital, the broadcaster has been investing in integrated sales structures aimed at delivering seamless solutions across its content ecosystem.

Shetty's appointment is expected to further bolster Zee's efforts to deepen relationships with advertisers while enhancing monetisation opportunities across its linear broadcast channels and digital properties.