Mumbai: Times Network has handed interim charge of its news broadcasting business to Rohit Gopakumar, a senior Times Group executive who currently oversees the company’s entertainment and digital portfolio. The move follows the exit of COO Varun Kohli and is effective August 13, 2025, according to industry reports.

Kohli’s departure comes a year after the network’s former CEO, M.K. Anand, quit in July 2024 following a decade-plus stint at Bennett, Coleman & Co.

In the new arrangement, all functions in the TV news broadcasting business—barring Finance, Legal and Distribution—will report directly to Gopakumar. Finance and Legal will continue to be routed via the managing director’s office through Jagdish Mulchandani, while Distribution for both the News and Entertainment businesses will report to Gopakumar. He will continue to report to Times Group managing director Vineet Jain and work closely with N. Subramanian, executive director and group CEO, non-publishing.

Alongside the interim charge, he remains CEO of Zoom Entertainment Network Ltd, a director at Worldwide Media and Times Strategic Solutions Ltd, and head of Times Network’s digital business.

BestMediaInfo reported that Kohli had been brought in as COO in June 2024 to drive broadcast revenues; with his exit, Gopakumar steps in to steady the division while continuing his broader group responsibilities. 

Seasoned media professional with experience in print, television and digital domains 

Gopakumar is a longtime Times Group hand. Rohit Gopakumar’s career spans more than three decades across print, television, experiential and digital businesses.

Before moving into his current groupwide entertainment and digital remit, Rohit Gopakumar was appointed CEO of Worldwide Media (publisher of Filmfare, Femina and other brands) in August 2023 after a decade as Chief Operating Officer at Optimal Media Solutions (OMS), the Times Group’s branded content and solutions arm.

Prior to his OMS and Worldwide Media roles, Gopakumar held senior positions across the Indian media landscape. He served as senior vice president at NDTV Media and as executive vice president at Aidem Ventures, and in 2012 was appointed vice president, South Asia for BBC Advertising at BBC Worldwide. Early stints included roles at The Times of India and STAR TV; he began his career as a management trainee with the Taj Group of Hotels in 1993.

The interim appointment places Gopakumar at the center of Times Network’s day-to-day news operations at a time of heightened competition and revenue pressure in TV news. With his mix of revenue leadership, brand stewardship and digital oversight within the Times Group, the network is betting on continuity at the top while it evaluates long-term leadership for the broadcast news business.

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