In the end he was out almost before he had set foot inside. Satish Menon has left the still-up-in-the-air Manoranjan Aur Kya (Mak) TV and joined Sahara TV, industry sources revealed today.

Sources say Menon is likely to be heading ad sales and marketing at Sahara. When contacted Priya Raj, Sahara TV vice-president (publicity, promotions & PR), confirmed Menon's having joined Sahara but said details regarding his designation were still awaited.

Menon joined Mak from Zee TV where his last posting there was as president of Zee News. His has been just one of the high-profile departures from the Zee Group in the last few months.

Menon's leaving Mak just a couple of months after joining the network is likely to further fuel doubts about whether the network will finally see the light of day. Mak was originally scheduled to launch on 31 December as a six-channel bouquet. Then 26 January (Republic Day) was being talked off as a launch date but there is still no word available on what is happening there.