MUMBAI: There was an itch to do more, something bigger. That’s what got Naresh Ramnath to quit his position as vice president of programming at Astro Malaysia and join Yogesh Radhakrishnan’s Pioneer Channel Factory as COO in mid April.

With two music channels in the pipeline, the company is looking at increasing its portfolio with the first in the line up being a live concert channel that will show recorded versions of live concerts by international rock, pop and jazz bands and later on will also include Indian bands. However, it won’t be restricted to just being a channel but will also be spread as a service.

“Our main aim will be to create brands that can increase the willingness to pay from viewers, advertisers and operators. Apart from this focus will also be on the digital and OTT platform,” says Ramnath speaking to indiantelevision.com. He added that the company will also be keenly looking at launching other HD channels.

Ramnath has over a decade of experience in the media industry starting off with the Zee Network and then moving on to UTV. His earlier stint was with Astro in Malaysia where he was vice president of programming for its channels for over seven years. As far as his new leaf with Pioneer Channel Factory is concerned Ramnath says, “I’ve always wanted to do something like this and it excites me!”