MUMBAI: B4U's head of international business Neeraj Arora has switched over to rival Sony Entertainment Television Asia (SET Asia).
Arora, who was senior vice-president international business development at B4U, has joined SET Asia as vice-president for international business.
SET Asia's international business executive vice-president Rajan Singh announced the appointment yesterday.
Althought the UK cable frat has been abuzz with the rumours about Arora's likely move to Sony since the last week of July, both SET Asia and B4U had been non-commital on the issue till yesterday.
Commenting on Arora's appointment Singh offers, "Neeraj is a seasoned TV executive who truly understands the nature of the international South Asian pay-TV sector. He is very well equipped to deal with the demands of a very competitive environment and I m sure that with him on board our international business will continue to go from strength to strength."
Arora will now be responsible for SET Asias operations outside of the Indian subcontinent and will report directly to Singh.
Based in London, he will oversee sales, marketing and distribution efforts in over 100 countries around the world with responsibility for major operations in the UK and Europe, Africa, North America, the Middle East and Australasia.
Prior to his appointment at SET Asia, Arora was B4U Network's senior vice president for international business development and was primarily responsible for the channels European, Middle Eastern and African operations.
Arora had been with B4U since it launched in 1999 along with SET Asia as a subscription based network in the UK. He was the highest ranking executive at B4U, which is London-based.
Before this, Arora was employed at Zee Network where he was responsible for the channels distribution and marketing in the UK and Europe and also oversaw the channels migration from analogue to digital satellite.
A native of Allahabad, India, Arora now lives in Middlesex with his wife and two children. He holds a BA degree from the University of Allahabad in Economics, Philosophy and Social Sciences.
