Viacom 18 names new COO ahead of Voot Kids launch

Indian entertainment network Viacom18, today has named Gourav Rakshit as COO of Viacom18 Digital Ventures ahead of the planned launch of kids subscription service Voot Kids. 

Gourav Rakshit

Rakshit will join the TV18-Viacom JV this month, reporting to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and MD.

He is currently president and CEO of People Group, which owns and operates consumer subscription outfit Shaadi.com. He previously worked for Nestle, Planetasia and Infosys Consulting.

Voot Kids is an iteration of existing on-demand service Voot, which provides a library of more than 60,000 hours across Viacom18’s network content. Operating currently as an ad-supported service in India, Voot has 55 million monthly active users.

“Our digital foray has grown exponentially since its inception 3 years back, with the sharply segmented businesses – the ad led model, the international business and the soon-to-be-launched subscription based Voot Kids service”, said Vats.

“As we unlock business value, Gourav, with an in-depth understanding of digital disruption and a proven track-record of envisioning subscription growth, is the right person to lead our talented teams across the Digital Ventures portfolio.”