P&M Group, promoted by filmmaker Prakash Jha and Adlabs’ Manmohan Shetty, are all set to launch Maurya TV in Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar in the next two months. P&M will also launch a digital cinema multiplex chain, malls and family entertainment centres. The group has appointed Rajiv Mishra as CEO. Mishra moves from CineMaya Media Group Inc, where he has been senior VP.
Maurya TV has been planned as news and current affairs channel with stress on infotainment. The company has got the infrastructure in place for the launch of the channel and has also received government permission for the same. They plan to have a 360 degree campaign to support the launch of the channel.
Confirming the development, Mishra said, “The promoters of P&M (Prakash Jha and Manmohan Shetty) are themselves well-known brands, and I see a good future at P&M Group. With the launch of Maurya TV, digital cinema multiplex chain, malls and family entertainment centres in Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar, we do have the first mover’s advantage, nevertheless my job will certainly be a challenging one and I am looking forward to it.”
At CineMaya, Mishra is said to have been instrumental in launching Times Now, the news channel of The Times of India as ‘India Now’ in the US. He had earlier worked with HT as sub editor, Star TV as manager, Reliance Infocomm as GM and BAG Films as COO. He was the founder president of Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI).
Mishra has done his Masters in broadcasting from the International Academy of Broadcasting (IAB), Montreux, Switzerland. He holds an MBA in media management from Metropolitan College, New York and a graduate certificate course in multimedia from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).