India’s Toonz hires Zee alum to expand linear channels business

India-based kids’ prodco Toonz Media Group has set up a new arm to oversee the launch of new linear channels in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region.

Mukund Cairae

Toonz Media Networks will be headed up by former Zee Entertainment chief operating officer Mukund Cairae, who will seek to expand in further territories in the next two years.

In addition to the new channels, Cairae will also oversee Toonz’s pre-existing linear networks in Russia and Latin America, as well as the firm’s YouTube channels.

Previously, Cairae worked at Zee for more than 15 years, joining in 2004 as VP of distribution for Asia Pacific, before being promoted to chief operating officer in 2019.

Prior to that, Cairae was general manager of sales and distribution at Videocon Consumer Durables and worked in sales and marketing roles at Kotak Life and Amadeus India.

P Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Media Group, said: “This is the right time for Toonz to focus more on platform entertainment. The content industry is booming around the world and demand for kids’ content, especially, is unprecedented.

“We have consolidated our position as a leading kids and family entertainment company in the last 20+ years, with a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from animation production to emerging technologies. So, venturing into the platform business space is a natural progression for Toonz.”

Cairae, president of Toonz Media Networks, added: “The idea is to monetise Toonz’s content in various territories across the globe, especially in emerging markets, via our in-house content delivery platforms. Toonz will partner with telcos as well as digital platforms to launch channels in these territories. This includes both linear and on-demand channels. For on-demand platforms, we will start off with the Middle East market.”