Gaurav Banerjee from Disney Star joins Sony Pictures Networks India as CEO, succeeding NP Singh

Mumbai: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has appointed Disney Star’s Gaurav Banerjee as its new Chief Executive Officer, replacing NP Singh, two people familiar with the development told a credible source. Singh had announced his intention to step down after 25 years at Sony last week.

Banerjee was the business leader for Star Bharat, as well as for Hindi and English movies, kids & infotainment, and regional (East) channels at Disney Star. She also handled programming for Hindi entertainment and Disney+ Hotstar. He did not respond to requests for comment right away.

Banerjee, a former journalist, started off at Aaj Tak before becoming a prime-time anchor and senior producer at Star News in 2004. He played a key role in the establishment of the Bengali news network Star Ananda in 2005.

He moved to Star India in 2008 to oversee content planning for the network's regional entertainment channels, Star Jalsha in Bengal and Star Pravah in Maharashtra, which helped the firm explore new markets.

Banerjee, who was named head of content strategy for Star Plus in 2009, was instrumental in bringing popular series like Sasural Genda Phool and Diya Aur Baati Hum back to life and helping the channel take the lead in 2010. In 2013, he received a promotion to General Manager at Star Plus, and in 2015, he assumed control of the Content Studio.

Banerjee graduated from Jamia Milia Islamia University in Delhi with a master's degree in cinema and television production from the Mass Communications Research Centre. He finished his history undergraduate degree at Delhi's St Stephens College.