Kingshuk Mitra Takes Charge of Agency Relations at JioStar

Kingshuk Mitra, former Head of Ad Sales, Sports at Disney Star, has been appointed to lead Agency Relations for the newly unified JioStar network. With over 20 years of experience in media planning, advertising sales, and agency relationships, Mitra is well-equipped for this pivotal role.

In his most recent position at Disney Star, Mitra was responsible for driving ad sales across key sports properties, maximizing revenue through strategic partnerships and monetization efforts. Prior to his tenure at Disney Star, he served as Chief Operating Officer for APAC at Essence/GroupM, WPP’s media planning agency, where he managed operations across the Asia-Pacific region. His earlier roles also include Managing Director at Maxus GroupM in the Philippines, Client Leader at Maxus India, and various strategic positions at Madison World, Emami, and Mindshare India.

Mitra will report to Ajit Varghese, Head of Revenue, Entertainment and International at JioStar. His appointment comes shortly after the formation of the new joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Viacom18 Media, and The Walt Disney Company, finalized on November 14. The venture, which reshapes the Indian media and entertainment landscape, merges the media assets of Viacom18, JioCinema, and Star India, creating a media conglomerate valued at approximately Rs 70,352 crore (US$8.5 billion). Reliance Industries, holding a 56% stake, has invested Rs 11,500 crore (US$1.4 billion) to drive the JV’s growth.

The joint venture brings together leading entertainment brands such as Star, Colors, JioCinema, and Hotstar, and will operate over 100 TV channels, produce more than 30,000 hours of content annually, and have a digital subscriber base exceeding 50 million, positioning it as a dominant force in India’s entertainment sector.