NDTV has announced the appointment of Rahul Shaw to lead its experiential business, signalling a timely move into India’s fast-evolving, experience-driven economy. With over 30 years of deep leadership across print, television, GECs, sports, radio, and brand activations, Shaw brings with him a rare combination of business vision and a proven track record of building scalable media assets.
His arrival at NDTV is perfectly timed. India’s live events and experiential segment is projected to grow at 19% CAGR through 2027, with the organized events industry expected to cross ₹202 billion. Ticketed events have grown fourfold in five years, driven by a shift in audience behaviour: today, Indians want more than content – they want connection, community, and curated experiences. And they are willing to pay for them.
Shaw’s appointment positions NDTV to meet this moment – by shaping platforms that are credible, culturally resonant, and commercially scalable.
His mandate is ambitious: to create flagship IPs, immersive formats, and large-scale, public-facing experiences, and to reach deep into Tier 2 and Tier 3 India, where audiences are growing more discerning, experience-hungry, and ready for formats that match their rising ambitions.
And these are not just moments of media consumption. Experiential formats fuel local economies – creating ripple effects across travel, hospitality, stage management, food and beverages, talent management, merchandising, and venue infrastructure. At a time when India is reimagining itself as an economic and cultural powerhouse, such live experiences can become powerful engines of economic growth.
Shaw has long worked at the intersection of creativity and commerce. As CEO of TV Today Network, he oversaw the group’s flagship channels – Aaj Tak, India Today Television, and Good News Today, while significantly expanding the group’s on-ground activation capabilities. He is widely credited with turning around the legacy channel Headlines Today into the high-growth, high-impact India Today TV, and with pioneering innovations like virtual advertising, which redefined revenue models for Indian broadcast.
He is also the architect of some of India’s most successful and celebrated live properties. These include Sahitya Aaj Tak, one of the largest literary platforms created by a news organisation, and the Yo Yo Honey Singh Millionaire Tour, a headline act that marked the rapper’s dramatic return to public performance and captured the zeitgeist of India’s youth culture.
Rahul Shaw’s career spans leadership roles at Star India, Zee Entertainment, SET India, Turner International, NDTV Imagine, INX News, and Bennett Coleman & Co., making him one of the few professionals in Indian media with hands-on experience across content, monetization, operations, and audience development.
In recognition of his impact across the media ecosystem, Shaw was named CEO of the Year by ENBA, cementing his reputation as a leader who doesn’t just manage businesses — he builds them, transforms them, and future-proofs them.
‘NDTV is a brand that’s etched in public memory – for its trust, its poise, its sharp journalism, and for always being ahead of the curve in innovation. Today, we have an opportunity to extend that credibility into the world of immersive experiences to create conversations that are not only seen but felt. The audience today isn’t just looking to attend. They want to engage. And this is where the experiential business at NDTV comes in as a platform that delivers on that promise,’ said Rahul Shaw.
Rahul Kanwal, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, NDTV, added, ‘Over several years, I have seen first-hand Rahul Shaw’s aggression and ambition and his ability to think and act big and bold. Shaw’s entry is a major force multiplier for NDTV at this stage in the journey of the business. I am extremely bullish on the prospects of the experiences economy and confident that NDTV can be a key player in this fast-growing vertical.’*
At its core, Shaw’s move is not just a business expansion — it is a mindset shift. With experiential formats, NDTV will bring together journalism, immersion, and cultural imagination through public forums, festivals, creator-powered tours, knowledge summits, and new event IPs that speak to an India on the move.
The new NDTV is expanding the boundaries of storytelling, moving beyond traditional formats to create real-world experiences that inform, engage, and endure. It’s not just a shift in strategy, but a statement of intent. Welcome to the new NDTV.
