MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Warner Bros has announced a strategic realignment of its television and home entertainment operations. The aim is to continue the studio?s focus on producing content while maximising its value by taking full advantage of every current and emerging exhibition platform. The organisational changes were announced by Warner Bros CEO Kevin Tsujihara.

He said, "The digital revolution continues to change every aspect of the way we do business, and this strategic realignment will help us address those changes to better deliver our world-class content to the widest array of consumers across the globe.

"Warner Bros has the world?s best television series, films, games and original digital content, and we are committed to maximizing its value to the company, our creative partners and, ultimately, consumers."
 
Under this realignment, which is effective immediately, the Studio?s worldwide television operations will be overseen by a team of longstanding executives responsible for global production and distribution; the Studio?s digital strategy will be consolidated under a chief digital officer; and various home entertainment functions will be reassigned.

Warner Bros chairman Barry Meyer said, "One of Warner Bros? greatest strengths has always been its people, and this realignment will tap into the expertise and experience of a number of the company?s longstanding executives. The studio and its leadership have a legacy of adapting and evolving to meet and exceed consumers? demands. The changes announced today continue that tradition and solidly position us for future success."

In television, Peter Roth will now serve as Warner Bros Television Group president, chief content officer while retaining his title and responsibilities as Warner Bros Television, Warner Horizon Television and Animation president. He will add creative oversight of Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros International Television Production to his responsibilities. Craig Hunegs will now serve as Warner Bros Television Group president, business and strategy with responsibility for the business operations of the group. He will also be responsible for windowing strategies and expanding production businesses. Additionally, Hunegs will join the boards of both The CW Network and Shed Media.
 
Jeffrey Schlesinger will now serve as Warner Bros Worldwide Television Distribution president and be responsible for distribution of the Studio?s content to all television platforms worldwide, including the sale of previously produced series and feature films to US broadcast and cable outlets, domestic syndication and sales to SVOD and AVOD platforms. He will also continue to be responsible for the business operations of WBITVP.

Roth, Hunegs and Schlesinger will all report directly to Tsujihara. Roth and Schlesinger will share oversight of Warner Bros Worldwide Television Marketing, headed by Warner Bros Television Group CMO Lisa Gregorian.

Thomas Gewecke, who was previously Warner Bros Digital Distribution president has been named Warner Bros Entertainment chief digital officer and executive VP, strategy and business development. He is responsible for driving the studio?s worldwide digital growth and managing its global business strategy. He will further be charged with coordinating the company?s various digital distribution strategies to maximise the value of all of Warner Bros? content across all current and emerging digital exhibition platforms (SVOD and TVOD functions will continue to be managed by the Television and Home Entertainment Groups). Gewecke will additionally oversee Warner Bros Technical Operations, Corporate Business Development, and Home Entertainment?s Direct-to-Consumer, Business Development and Flixster groups. Gewecke will report directly to Tsujihara.

In the Home Entertainment division, Ron Sanders who was Warner Home Video President will become Warner Bros Worldwide Home Entertainment Distribution president. In this new role, Sanders will expand his purview to include global digital transactional business (electronic sell-through and VOD), as well as the global distribution activities of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment (WBIE). Additionally, Sanders will help expand the retail distribution of DC Entertainment products, working closely with DCE?s President, Diane Nelson. Sanders will report directly to Tsujihara.

Diane Nelson remains DC Entertainment president, which continues to be a stand-alone entity under Warner Bros Entertainment, and she will now have a dual report to Tsujihara and Warner Bros Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov. Nelson adds responsibilities as WBIE president, chief content officer, where she will oversee the development, production and marketing of all video game titles for WBIE, including those based on DC characters, as well as other Warner Bros properties and original IP. In this capacity, she will work closely with WBIE president, Martin Tremblay, who will now report to Nelson and Sanders.

NEW DELHI: Former deputy director general of Doordarshan and a veteran in educational television Jai Chandiram died this morning aged 75.

She had been battling cancer of the colon for some months. Chandiram is survived by her brother and two sisters.

Less than a fortnight before she passed away, Chandiram was awarded the lifetime achievement award by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT), whose Indian chapter she headed for many years. The IAWRT annually organised a film festival to coincide with the International Women?s Day.

Chandiram was among the first women on Indian television and the IAWRT?s first Asian president. Her eclectic career included a stint as a part-time actor and inspired a whole generation of professional media women. She was also a champion for women?s rights.
She joined Doordarshan around 52 years ago, and later served as head of the television department of the Central Institute of Education of the National Council for Educational Research and Training. She also headed the department of television at the Film and Television Institute at Pune.

Later, she was head of the Fortune Institute of Information and Television (FICT), and also advisor to the Delhi International Arts Festival.

Chandiram received her Masters Degree from the School of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, Gainesville.

She started her career as a producer in Doordarshan and her experience in media covered production, training and management. Her main area of work has been on children, education, distance learning, gender and developmental issues.

She was television consultant at the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting and Development, (AIBD), Kuala Lumpur. During this period she provided training to the broadcasting organisations in the Asia Pacific region. The audio video resource kit, on gender, ?Into Focus, Changing Media Images of Women in Asia," was a path breaker and continues to be widely used in many countries.
She headed many media centres including the Educational Media Production Center of Indira Gandhi National Open University (EMPC-IGNOU) and she was executive director media at the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA).

She was also an advisor to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for the bouquet of educational channels named Mana TV.

At Doordarshan she was Director of Doordarshan Delhi, Ahmedabad, Central Production Centre. She started the third Channel of Doordarshan, which concentrated, on the arts. She retired from Doordarshan as Deputy Director General.

She had been a jury member for many national and international organizations, including NHK (Japan), and IAWRT Awards. She has also been a jury member at the national level for many organizations.

She had also been on the media advisory and task forces for various Ministries and organizations, dealing with, Family Welfare, Health, HIV-AIDS, Leprosy, Biodiversity, etc. She is the examiner for the Jamia Millia Institute for Mass Communication 2003-05, the Commonwealth of Learning Consultant and trainer for National Institute of Teachers (NIT) and NOUN, Nigeria.

She was the trainer Consultant to the Princess Diana Leprosy Mission Trust and holds workshops for NGO?s.