Anil Jayaraj, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sports at Viacom18, has stepped down after nearly three years in the role.
The development arises as the company backed by Reliance Industries (RIL) is in the process of merger with Walt Disney’s Star India. According to reports, Jayaraj put in his papers on Monday.
As CEO, Jayaraj significantly broadened Viacom18’s sports division, expanding its presence across both television and digital platforms such as Sports18 and JioCinema.
Jayaraj joined Viacom18 from Star Sports, where he was Executive Vice President responsible for ad sales, global syndication and cross screen offer design and measurement. He successfully led his team to deliver business performance across multiple sporting events including Indian Premier League, Cricket World Cup, Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super League among others.
Before that, he was serving as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Pidilite Industries from June 2010 to February 2015.
Before this role, he worked at BP – Marine & Energy Lubricants, first as the Fuels Marketing Manager from October 2006 to September 2007, and subsequently as the Marketing Director from October 2007 to July 2010. Previously, he held various positions at Castrol, transitioning through different roles over time.
During his tenure, Viacom18 secured major properties including digital rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), BCCI media rights, the Women’s Premier League (WPL), and Olympics 2024.
JioCinema, owned by Viacom18, disrupted the sports broadcasting landscape by offering free sports streaming, making digital the go-to medium for live sports viewing across the nation.
