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Category: eNews

  • The Quint is Facebook’s Indian digital partner for instant articles

    The Quint is Facebook’s Indian digital partner for instant articles

    MUMBAI: Social media giant Facebook’s has partnered with The Quint in India to launch Instant Articles. Quint is Facebook’s only fully digital partner in the country

     

    Instant Articles loads videos and photos up to 10 times faster claims a release from The Quint. Auto-play videos come to life on scrolling through an article. High-resolution photos can be tilted to explore in detail, to see the location where the photo was clicked with interactive maps  and even hear the author’s voice with embedded audio captions.

     

    “We quickly saw that this was going to lift the user experience to an altogether different level. So when Facebook reached out, they had us at hello. We fast-tracked the implementation and had The Quint’s Instant Articles (test) out in a few weeks. We’re still fine tuning the experience, but we’re very happy with the results so far’’, shared The Quint CEO Ritu Kapur. 

     

    Facebook’s News and Global Media Partnerships director Andy Mitchell said, “We’re seeing great responses from readers who are enjoying the fast and interactive experience of Instant Articles and are excited to bring that to readers Quint in India. Since its launch in April this year, The Quint has grown really quickly on Facebook and given Quint’s focus on mobile-first journalism and publishing, it is a great fit for Instant Articles.” 

     

    Prior to this, Facebook had launched Instant Articles in the US with partners like New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, NBC and National Geographic.

  • Times Internet buys majority stake for $15 milion in Taskbucks

    Times Internet buys majority stake for $15 milion in Taskbucks

    MUMBAI: Indian digital products company Times Internet from the Times of India group has acquired a majority stake in Taskbucks – a mobile-only tasks marketplace. Taskbucks matches consumers with brands and enterprises on its platform. Companies offer tasks to consumers, who are rewarded for completing these micro tasks via the Taskbucks marketplace.

     

    Times Internet VP corporate development Miten Sampat says, “Taskbucks is reducing friction in the connection between consumers and companies, in a way that drives value for both. As hundreds of millions of Indians get connected with smartphones, Taskbucks is one of the few services that has an immediate and clear value proposition for the consumer. Led by a strong, experienced team, I’m confident Taskbucks will add value to millions of Indian consumers.”

     

    “We intend to use this funding to build out more ways for companies to leverage access to our 5 million strong and rapidly growing user base. We will soon be launching Taskbucks Pro, a premium version of Taskbucks, where users can perform real-world tasks for brands, to earn more. We’ll also be working closely with Times Internet to build our brand and drive growth of our mobile app,” added Taskbucks CEO Kumar Apurva.

     

    Taskbucks currently offers brands the option for app discovery, user retention, referral tasks, offer signups, and social content sharing, as promotions that they can offer consumers.

     

    Taskbucks is owned by DigiSmart Digital Media, a Gurgaon based company, founded in 2014 by Kumar Apurva. Kumar has over 15 years of new media and start up experience in the field of Internet and mobile space, playing a senior role at companies such as Info Edge, ValueFirst, Way2Online, and Times Internet.

  • Culture Machine and Bench Flix join hands for Bench Culture

    Culture Machine and Bench Flix join hands for Bench Culture

    Mumbai: A digital video entertainment company Culture Machine and  Karthik Subbaraj founded Bench Flix, announced the launch of Bench Culture, which will curate short films and documentaries across the world. Bench Culture will open up the world to short film-makers while making it easier for the viewers to access content from domestic and international markets.

     

    “With respect to content quality and viewership, short film segment is surely main stream material and ‘making short films big’ is our core vision. Bench Culture, the collaboration between Bench Flix and Culture Machine is powerful and complementing in building a brand for quality short films across the world” says Karthik Subbaraj.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the platform Culture Machine CEO and co-founder Sameer Pitalwalla said, “ Bench Culture is a great platform that will provide the best of short films that are still unrecognised and create great entertainment for the Internet generation.”

     

    Stone Bench Creations’ Bench Flix is an integrated aggregation and distribution platform for short films and is uniquely positioned in the space with over 1400 short films being curated under their banner. Besides, Bench Flix has played an integral role in bringing a mainstream credibility to this segment. Their most recent wins being the  ‘Bench Talkies’ the successful theatrical release of short film as a feature and soon to be followed by ‘Aviyal’ in December this year. Culture Machine, the only digital entertainment company that brings together great content with great technology giving it an undisputed edge, reaches out to 4 Million subscribers through its expansive network.

     

    The collaboration sees the coming together of the two powerhouses bringing their strengths to Bench Culture and build a platform that provides unprecedented opportunities for both the films and their makers.

  • Quintype to invest in digital media start-ups via SpeakWrite

    Quintype to invest in digital media start-ups via SpeakWrite

    MUMBAI: Touting it as a “new kind of startup accelerator,” the Raghav Bahl backed digital publishing company Quintype has launched SpeakWrite. 

     

    SpeakWrite is a program for promising startups in the digital media space. So far, the company has accepted three startups into the program, and will be announcing the details soon.

     

    The company is looking at investing in a total of five start-ups this year and plans to take that number of 15 next year.

     

    “SpeakWrite will cost no money. However, in exchange for investing SpeakWrite and Quintype resources in the selected start-ups, Quintype will take a percentage of equity stake in the respective startups,” said Quintype founder and CEO Amit Rathore.

     

    Quintype will take anywhere between four – nine per cent equity stake in respective startups. The exact amount will depend on factors like the stage of the startup, amount of funding raised, complexity of the initial site/apps and business plan amongst others.

     

    By partnering with selected startups, SpeakWrite will advise, mentor, design, develop, and help launch their sites and apps. The company will mentor startups for a period of 12-24 months.

     

    SpeakWrite is based both in the United States, as well as in Asia.

  • Raghav Bahl invests $3.25 million in Quintype

    Raghav Bahl invests $3.25 million in Quintype

    MUMBAI: Indian entrepreneur Raghav Bahl is invested $3.25 million in the California based data-driven publishing company Quintype.

     

    The company will use the capital raised to enhance product and business development. Specifically, the funding will be used to grow the product engineering, and sales teams, across locations in the US Bay Area, as well as in Bangalore, India.

     

    Bahl’s Quintillion Media runs a news site in India called The Quint, which was launched earlier this year on the Quintype platform.

     

    Quintype founder Amit Rathore said, “We are excited to have Mr. Bahl support our company as he has, and are looking forward to using the funds to grow the company even more, particularly from a business standpoint. At Quintype, our goal is to make it just as easy to start a non-trivial media operation, as it is to start a blog. So, if you want to start a new online magazine, or a news site or app, or any other high-velocity content property, you’ll be able to do it in minutes.”

     

    The Quintype platform is a seamless, end-to-end SaaS service that brings together all the functionality you need to run a modern media business, including everything needed to create and distribute content, understand and grow your audience, and also monetise that content. Because they’re all seamlessly integrated, these various functions work together extremely well, letting publishers focus on their content business, while the Quintype platform manages all the technology heavy lifting. It includes functionality like cardification, collaboration and team workflow tools, advanced semantic analytics, personalisation and recommendation systems, an advanced monetisation engine, and several other modules.

     

    This SaaS offering lets media organisations reduce technology costs, while at the same time, leveraging big data and predictive analytics to increase revenue and profits. In fact, Quintype’s business model is unique. The entire state-of-the-art platform is available to anyone, free of cost. Quintype partners with publishers by making money through a revenue-share model, effectively aligning their interests with that of the publisher. Quintype only makes money when the publisher does.

     

    Quintype also allows publishers to define more-nuanced audience segments, an attractive proposition for advertisers as well. Quintype takes this first-party data to the next level.

     

    Bahl, who launched his company Quintillion Media, after selling Network18 to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, has been investing in multiple ventures. Most recently he invested Rs 4 crore in the media platform Youth Ki Awaaz as well as in the women-oriented job portal Sheroes.

  • Warner & DC Entertainment launch websites for kids

    Warner & DC Entertainment launch websites for kids

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) and DC Entertainment have launched three new entertainment destinations for kids namely ScoobyDoo.com, LooneyTunes.com and DCKids.com that will engage fans with all their favorite Warner Bros. characters and DC Comics Super Heroes in a dynamic immersive experience, featuring original new content.

     

    “Now, more than ever, providing universal access to a world of content is key to engaging even our youngest fans. We are excited to offer this new entertainment experience that delivers fun and engagement for kids across multiple digital platforms,” said Warner Bros. Consumer Products executive vice president Karen McTier.

     

    With key interactive features designed to offer exciting content to kids any time they want from any Internet-connected device in the format they have grown to expect in today’s digital environment, ScoobyDoo.com, LooneyTunes.com and DCKids.com are now launched and will allow kids to experience immersive worlds 24/7 and connect with Warner Bros.’ beloved franchise animation characters and the famed universe of DC Comics.

     

    The WB Kids character driven environments, ScoobyDoo.com and LooneyTunes.com, will inspire imagination and encourage interaction with many of Warner Bros.’ most recognizable franchise animation characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and the Gang, engaged through fan-favorite content, exclusive videos, interactive and downloadable activities, comics and exciting games.

     

    “With DCKids.com our goal is to provide a kids-focused online destination that delivers unparalleled access to our iconic characters such as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in a way that is fun, engaging and appropriate for our younger fans. We know kids have an affinity for our characters, and that interacting with DC Super Heroes can be inspirational and a powerful source of imagination and play,” said DC Entertainment SVP marketing and global franchise management Amit Desai.

     

    DCKids.com will feature DC Comics’ Super Heroes, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and more, in exciting games and interactive ways to play. Original digital shorts from Batman Unlimited and DC Super Friends will be featured on the site.

     

    Developed for kids aged 4-11, the discoverable digital ecosystem offers relatable entertainment for kids through these immersive worlds that feature components such as original content, videos, downloadable activities, games, quizzes and contests. Additionally, an international market rollout in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Spain and the UK is planned for the coming months.

  • DataVideo eyes 50% revenue from Indian market in 5-10 years

    DataVideo eyes 50% revenue from Indian market in 5-10 years

    MUMBAI: With the proliferation of digital devices and today’s ever changing market of always–on connectivity, broadcasters are looking beyond TV to stream and monetise their content.

     

    Keeping this in mind Broadcast Asia 2015 will unveil its new TV Everywhere! zone presenting the latest solutions to address increasing consumer expectations. One of these solutions is being offered will be from DataVideo, which has been participating in the summit for the last 17 years. With its slogan “Live in Seconds” it offers mobile video solutions.

     

    While currently India contributes to less then 10 per cent of the company’s overall revenues, DataVideo Singapore managing director Frank Lin is bullish on the Indian market and expects it to jump up to 50 per cent over the next five to ten years.

     

    Lin, who is optimistic about the various sports leagues coming up in India, tells Indiantelevision.com, “A lot of equipments, which are state of the art are required in sports broadcasting. How does one set up a studio? We offer a studio in a box. Through our integrated solutions, we can set up sports broadcasting equipments in 10-30 minutes of a day.”

     

    The target industries for DataVideo are broadcasting, audio video and weddings sectors along with educational and religious sectors. “Presently north, east and west regions of India are served by our Noida office and south India is served by our Cochin office,” informs Lin.

     

    Established in Taiwan in January 1985, the company has more than 200 employees worldwide. It also has close to 90 distributors in various countries.

     

    In India, Data Video works with channels like Doordarshan, ESPN, ACT TV, TV9, ETV, Zee TV etc. In the education sector, the company works with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Calicut Medical College and Manipal University.

     

    Some of their new line of products includes OBV-2800CCU, HRS 30 Field Recorder, NVS 25 Streaming Server and a SE 700 4-CH HD Switcher for the wedding video market.

     

    Broadcast Asia 2015 will be held from 2-5 June, 2015 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

     

  • Goal partners with Times Internet to drive growth in India

    Goal partners with Times Internet to drive growth in India

    NEW DELHI: Digital sports content company Perform Group’s portal Goal has entered into a strategic partnership with Times Internet for delivering worldwide content. 

     

    Through this partnership, Goal is looking to continue its growth in India, leveraging Times Internet’s 100 million monthly unique users. Perform and Times Internet will collaborate in creating a unique blend of local and international football coverage.

     

    As part of the collaboration, Times Internet will have exclusive rights to the Goal brand in India and will drive local commercialization of Goal across both desktop and mobile. Perform will continue to leverage the Indian edition for key regional and global partnerships.

     

    A key enabler for the growth of the partnership will be Times Group’s ability to cross-promote the Goal brand, both across its wider sports vertical and offline publications. Both of these initiatives are set to position Goal as the pre-eminent football destination in India.

     

    Times Global Partners (TGP) business head Puneet Singhvi said, “The partnership with one of the largest global football sites gives us an ideal platform to build a strong destination for the rapidly growing base of soccer enthusiasts in India. We aim to use this partnership to evangelize the sport and make it more mainstream. We also look forward to working with Indian and International advertisers to roll out sponsorship and other advertising opportunities for this sought after and affluent audience segment.”

     

    Perform Group Media Asia-Pacific EVP James Peel added, “Goal’s partnership with Times Internet and the Times of India property is an incredibly exciting development in the growth of Goal, both locally in India and regionally. Not only does it reinforce Goal’s standing as the leading football property globally, but leverages a time of unprecedented interest in Football in India. Times of India is the leading digital publisher in India and, combining Goal’s unique IP and content with India’s largest online audience, we will deliver a range of unique and compelling digital advertising opportunities for brands and advertisers.”

  • ‘Pratyahik Khabar’ to launch wire news agency; 35 editions in India

    ‘Pratyahik Khabar’ to launch wire news agency; 35 editions in India

    KOLKATA: Saturday Times Group, a Kolkata-based media group, with an aim to give a new voice to the cultural capital of the country West Bengal, plans to launch 35 editions of the Bengal daily Pratyahik Khabar soon.

     

    Furthermore, in order to reach the technology savvy fraternity, the Kolkata based media group will also launch a mobile application along with a multi-lingual non wire news agency called STNA (Saturday Times News and Analysis). 

     

    “Bengal is a rich state that comprises ever changing artistry, sports and of course politics. We at STNA are proud to announce our maiden venture so that we can inform our readers about the change and other newsworthy developments,” said Saturday Times Group founder editor Priyanath Chattopadhyay. 

     

    “Our team comprises talents that has played a pivotal role in Bengali journalism. I am sure that our fearless and balanced reporting will once again create a surge towards news as it is,” he added.

     

    According to Chattopadhyay, Saturday Times Media Group has evolved with the times, reflecting the changing India and is targeted to be the newspaper of choice of over one million Indians.

     

    Talking about the editions, he said that the newspaper would have several editions in states like West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Jharkahnd, Bihar and Delhi.

     

    ce of television. Twenty-five series aired in more than 70 countries across 2014. The format continues to be a hit in the USA, UK, Italy, Spain, Canada and Israel as well as in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Africa and Asia.

     

     

    Williams and her teams regionally oversee Endemol Shine Group’s newly combined catalogue of formats. The new company’s regional presence includes local production hubs in Poland, Middle East and North Africa, Russia and Turkey, with the Central and Eastern Europe format distribution team representing remaining territories.

  • Pan India Internet acquires IndiaOnline.com

    Pan India Internet acquires IndiaOnline.com

    NEW DELHI: Pan India Internet, an online internet company based out of Delhi (India), has recently acquired the top level domain –www.IndiaOnline.com – for an undisclosed amount.

     

    The acquisition comes as a major breakthrough for the company, which is already running India’s largest online network of 350 city-based websites by the name India Online Network, under the main portal – www.IndiaOnline.in

     

    Each city and state of India has been covered through an identical website like www.DelhiOnline.in,www.MumbaiOnline.in, www.ChennaiOnline.inetc.

     

    Each city website under the network acts as a one stop platform for the users to search for any kind of information within any city of India. Each city site further offers multiple services like – local search engine, news and weather updates, classifieds, events, city guide, discussion forums, jokes, games etc. The company has also launched the IndiaOnline.in mobile app, which can be downloaded through the Google Play Store.

     

    IndiaOnline director Rahul Jalan said, “Acquiring the domain IndiaOnline.com is a major breakthrough for us considering the importance of a dot com domain for a network like ours. The network will continue to run under the main site www.indiaonline.in and this new domain indiaonline.com will simply be used to redirect users to our main site. This domain was originally owned by a foreign based company and we are extremely proud to bring this domain back to India.”