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Tarun Katial

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Tarun Katial
Born (1975-01-07) 7 January 1975 (age 51)
Chandigarh, India
OccupationsEntrepreneur, media executive
Known forFounder & CEO of coto; former CEO of ZEE5; founder of 92.7 Big FM
SpouseMonisha Singh Katial
AwardsIndian Telly Awards (2002)

Tarun Katial (born 7 January 1975) is an Indian entrepreneur and media executive. He is the founder and CEO of coto, a digital emotional wellness platform operating across India, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the UAE.[1] He was previously the founder and CEO of ZEE5 India (2018–2020) and founder and CEO of 92.7 Big FM (2006–2018).

Early life and education

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Katial was born on 7 January 1975 in Chandigarh, India. He studied at H.R. College of Commerce and Economics and completed a Master of Management (MBA) from the University of Mumbai. He subsequently completed a certificate programme at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.[2]

Career

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Advertising and early television (1990s–2004)

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Katial began his career as a media trainee at Saatchi & Saatchi, subsequently working at Enterprise Nexus Lowe and Ogilvy & Mather. He later joined Star Network, where he headed several channels, rising to senior vice-president of Star Plus. He then moved to Sony Entertainment Television as its business head and executive vice-president in 2004.[3]

During his tenure at Sony Entertainment Television, Katial was responsible for several successful Indian television productions including Indian Idol, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Bigg Boss, Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi, and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin.[4] Katial has recalled that Amitabh Bachchan initially declined to host KBC and required months of convincing, including trips to the UK where Bachchan encountered the original format Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and recognised its scale. Bachchan subsequently rehearsed daily for months in the basement of the Star Plus office before filming the first episode, and the debut promotional film was shot in the United Kingdom.[5]

Big FM (2006–2018)

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In 2006, Katial co-founded 92.7 Big FM, a private FM radio network, where he served as COO and later CEO for over twelve years.[4] He also established Thwink BIG, a content incubator, and the BIG TV channels Magic and Ganga during this period.[6]

While at Reliance Broadcast Network, Katial co-founded the BIG Star Entertainment Awards in 2010 in collaboration with Star India.[7]

ZEE5 (2018–2020)

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Katial joined ZEE5 in November 2016 and was appointed its CEO in May 2018.[8] Under his leadership, ZEE5 grew to 61 million monthly active users and expanded its content library to over 125,000 hours across 14 languages.[6] He resigned from the position in November 2020.[9]

In 2019, Katial became the first Indian CEO from the OTT industry to speak at the 24th Paley International Council Summit.[10]

coto (2021–present)

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In June 2021, Katial founded Eve World Platform Pte. Ltd., initially launching a women-first social community platform under the name coto, with investment from Jungle Ventures through the firm's First Cheque@Jungle programme for experienced founders.[11][12]

The platform subsequently pivoted to focus on expert-led emotional wellness consultations, with monetisation launching in July 2024. coto now operates as a 24/7 digital emotional wellness platform offering live consultations across mental health, relationship coaching, astrology, tarot, Reiki, chakra healing, and meditation.[13][14] Katial has described his ambition as making emotional wellness "as fundamental as physical fitness", citing a personal turning point when he practised Vipassana meditation after leaving Star TV.[13] The platform has facilitated over two million minutes of consultations across India, the US, UK, Canada, and the UAE.[1]

In 2026, coto launched Joy Bot, described as India's first belief-adaptive AI companion for emotional wellness, built on over three million minutes of recorded human conversations and underpinned by a 30-guardrail safety system.[15][16][17][18] Joy Bot supports over 20 billion possible configurations based on user belief systems and emotional context.[19]

Other activities

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Katial is a TEDx speaker and has been featured in Episode 5 of "Dreamers, Disruptors: Redefining Leadership", a joint leadership series by The Quint and Bloomberg Quint, in which he discussed trends in digital entertainment and the future of content storytelling.[20] He has served as jury chair for the Ad Club Abby and DMAI, committee member with FICCI and CII, and Vice President of the Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI).[21] He also invests in and mentors edtech and media-tech businesses.[2]

Personal life

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Katial is married to Monisha Singh Katial.[4]

Awards and recognition

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Year Award Category Result
2002 Indian Telly Awards Best TV Programming Executive of the Year Won
2003 Indian Telly Awards Best TV Programming Head of the Year Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b "coto, India's Leading Emotional-Wellness Platform, Brings 24/7 Expert-Led Support to Canada". CanadianSME. 20 December 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Kellogg Magazine – Spring/Summer 2023 Class Notes". Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  3. ^ "Tarun Katial". Mint. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "Tarun Katial – On the binge". Mint. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  5. ^ "Amitabh Bachchan rehearsed for months before shooting for the first episode of KBC, shot the first ad in the UK, recalls Tarun Katial". The Indian Express. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  6. ^ a b "Tech 50 Class of 2020 – Tarun Katial". Entrepreneur India. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  7. ^ "RBNL-STAR come together to present Big Star Entertainment Awards". Media Mughals. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  8. ^ "Tarun Katial appointed as India CEO of ZEE5". Mint. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  9. ^ "Tarun Katial resigns as chief executive of ZEE5". Business Line. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  10. ^ "ZEE5 India's Tarun Katial to speak at 24th Paley International Council Summit". Indiantelevision.com. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  11. ^ "Tarun Katial raises funds from Jungle Ventures for women-centric platform Eve World". The Economic Times. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  12. ^ "First Cheque@Jungle – Portfolio". Jungle Ventures. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  13. ^ a b "Tarun Katial Promotes Emotional Wellness, Says It's As Fundamental As Physical Fitness". Variety India. 21 January 2026. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  14. ^ "Why Gen Z is turning to spiritual tech for micro-healing-platforms". The Times of India. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  15. ^ "Joy Bot by Coto debuts as India's first belief-adaptive AI companion for emotional wellness". MediaNews4U. 13 April 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  16. ^ "Coto launches 'Joy Bot', an AI emotional wellness companion". MediaBrief. April 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  17. ^ "Coto launches Joy Bot: India's first belief-adaptive AI companion for emotional wellness". Daily Tribune. April 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  18. ^ "Coto launches Joy Bot: India's first belief-adaptive AI companion for emotional wellness". Daily Pioneer. April 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  19. ^ "Joy Bot by coto redefines AI in emotional wellness with 20 billion configurations". The Cover Magazine. April 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  20. ^ "Dreamers, Disruptors: Ft. Media Industry Veteran, Tarun Katial". The Quint. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  21. ^ "Tarun Katial". MMA Global. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
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