Ferzad Palia, Business Head of JioCinema, to Resign

JioCinema's Business Head, Ferzad Palia, is expected to leave his position, according to people with knowledge of the situation. To facilitate a seamless handover, Palia will stay with the company throughout the transition, especially as merger-related activities move forward.

The company that is currently merging with Star India, Viacom18, chose not to comment on the news.

Palia has led a number of consumer-facing companies across digital and media channels for Viacom18 for almost 20 years. He oversaw JioCinema's ad-supported streaming business as well as its subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service.

In barely six months since launching its SVOD in April 2024, JioCinema has accumulated almost 20 million paying users. Palia was crucial to JioCinema's growth in the ad-supported market, helping it draw in over 250 million monthly active users and establish itself as one of the most well-liked streaming services in India.

Voot Select, Viacom18's premium streaming service, was launched with Palia's help and is now a part of JioCinema. By obtaining the broadcast rights to important events like the FIFA World Cup, he also helped Viacom18 enter the live sports market.

Palia spearheaded a comprehensive reorganization of Viacom18's youth-oriented brands, especially MTV, earlier in his career, bringing its programming into line with changing viewer tastes. Additionally, he oversaw the expansion of Comedy Central and Colors Infinity while managing Viacom18's English entertainment division.

Palia started his career at the well-known advertising firm JWT (now Wunderman Thompson), where he gained more than 25 years of expertise.