Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj resigns amid merger with Disney Star India

Anil Jayaraj, CEO of sports at Viacom18, has resigned after nearly three years in the role. This departure coincides with the ongoing merger between Reliance Industries-backed Viacom18 and Walt Disney's Star India. Sources familiar with the situation reported that Jayaraj submitted his resignation on Monday.

During his tenure, Jayaraj significantly grew Viacom18's sports business across TV and digital platforms such as Sports18 and JioCinema. Under his leadership, Viacom18 secured high-profile properties including the Indian Premier League (IPL) digital rights, the BCCI media rights, the Women's Premier League (WPL), and the 2024 Olympics.

Before joining Viacom18, Jayaraj led ad sales for Disney Star's sports network, Star Sports, where he developed monetization strategies for seven IPL seasons across Star Sports and Viacom18. Jayaraj's extensive 27-year career also includes roles as chief marketing officer at Pidilite and senior marketing positions at BP and Castrol.