ITV

Category: Yahoo

  • Yahoo to cash on Indo-Pak cricket with games and contests

    MUMBAI: Yahoo! India is all geared to capture the current cricket fever. The Internet communications and media company is adding new dimension to the recent Indo-Pak cricket clash, by extending the battle from the cricket pitch to the mobile handset.
     
     
    The company today announced the launch of BeatPak – an interactive SMS game, which provides every cricket lover in the country an opportunity to not only beat Pakistan through the Y! India shortcode 8243, but also walk away with an attractive prize in the bargain.

    The package consisting Beat Pak SMS Game, Wishes for Indian Team, SMS Contest, LIVE Cricket updates, Special Logos, Picture Messages and Animated SMS and can be accessed, by sending CHEER to Yahoo! short-code 8243, says a company release.

    Visiters can also send their wishes to their favorite player and the 10 best wishes will be displayed on the Y! India homepage.

    According to Yahoo! India country manager Neville Tarporewalla, “BeatPak will add spark to the Cheer India Campaign initiated by Yahoo! India on its homepage www.yahoo.co.in. The Y! India shortcode 8243 is already extensively used by cricket lovers across the country to get ball by ball update on their mobile phones via sms.”

    BeatPak is an interactive SMS game, which provides users with a random match scenario of the a) Venue, b) Overs to be played, c) Players on the field and d) Match target.

    User starts by sending the sms BEATPAK to 8243. The battle goes on over to over to over and the user continues playing by replying NEXT to 8243. A detailed summary is provided for each over after the final over of the match, a message like the one below will be displayed on the mobile screen, adds the release

  • Yahoo to sport Russian search engine

    MUMBAI: Yahoo will soon speak Russian. The global Internet company is looking at international market expansion with Russian language version. Besides, it will be launching new innovative anti-spam tools in markets worldwide.

    In addition to the Russian language version launch, the company plans to launch Eastern European and Southeast Asian languages including Polish, Turkish, Bahasa, Thai and Vietnamese searches, later this year.

    Currently available in 25 world properties, Yahoo! Mail Russian will target the two- three million Russian speaking people in the US as well as the entire Russian speaking diaspora, comprising approximately 35 million people living outside of Russia in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and countries outside the CIS, says a company release.

    In a bid to strengthening its leadership in offering effective spam control solutions to its users, the company plans to roll out innovative anti-spam tools. Consumers in markets worldwide now have free access to AddressGuard. Additionally, international users can take advantage of the Anti-Spam Resource Center where they can learn everything they need to know about spam and how Yahoo! Mail’s tools enable their own consumer power. These new anti-spam tools will be introduced in markets throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America, says the release.

    According to Yahoo vice president of communication products Brad Garlinghouse, “These enhancements come as consumers have made Yahoo! Mail the No. 1 Web-based e-mail service in the United States and international popularity and demand continues to soar. We are very excited about reinforcing our global leadership by targeting emerging language markets within the U.S. and internationally and the upcoming launch of Yahoo! Mail in Russian is a great first step for us. With the introduction of new anti-spam tools in international markets, we are providing an enhanced e-mail experience to users around the world.”

  • Ad supported content driving up video streams

    MUMBAI: In India broadband is an area that could experience explosive growth once convergence kicks in through the likes of Reliance. In the US the business of Internet video streams is going from strength to strength.

    More ad supported streaming content in 2004 has helped push usage numbers (aggregate tuning hours and video streams served) up by 118 per cent and 80 per cent respectively.

    The latest iBroadcast Stream Report data from media research company Accustream Research shows the number of video streams served per month during January and February by the top ten sites averaged 523 million compared to 292 million in 2003. The report is a monthly research service that examines US audience preferences for streaming media.

    AccuStream research director Paul A Palumbo was quoted in a company release saying, “There is more and better content available in 2004 that has moved out from behind subscription services. While there was a rush to move high value content behind subscriptions in 2001 and 2002, as audiences have increased and the ad market improved more advertising is supporting broadband streaming content this year.”

    Broadband video available through sites such as Yahoo, MSN Video, MSNBC, CBS News and Fox News have augmented already significant streaming taking place behind subscription services from Real Networks, and hybrid subscription/ad supported outlets such as AOL Broadband and AOL Radio.

    According to the report, there are more advertising supported streams available in 2004 than ever before, and ads are even appearing inside subscriptions streams. For Internet radio the tuning hours on the top ten sites per month in January and February 2004 averaged 137.5 million compared to 63 million in 2003.

    “In an era of instant access and expanded content availability, streaming media is one of the most effective and opportunistic forms of brand extension since video tape” Palumbo added.

  • Yahoo! does a product placement deal on latest Rajshri movie

    MUMBAI: While product placement in a movie isn’t really a new formula, the concepts are certainly becoming more innovative. The latest is the tie up between portal Yahoo! India and production house Rajshri Banner for a forthcoming launch under its banner Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon.
     
     
    With the stars in the movie using Yahoo! Mail to communicate in the movie and one of the key scenes sporting the web-portals banner; this first-of-its kind deal between a web portal and a movie might just start of a trend. The campaign doesn’t stop here; the web portal has organized a Ring tones Contest.

    The prizes include a date with the stars of the movie, Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan or Abhishek Bachchan. The Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon ringtone contest, which started off on 10 June will go on till 10 July. Contestants will have to log on to Yahoo! India website and choose any three tunes from a selection of eight tunes and download them onto their mobile phones and complete the slogan ‘Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon Kyunki…’ and wait for the lucky draw.

  • Yahoo! India forges alliance with CEAT for cricket ratings

    MUMBAI: Yahoo! India has tied up with Ceat to promote the Ceat International Cricket Rating on its website www.yahoo.co.in.

    Cricket fanatics can now track the performance of their favourite cricket stars, both national and international at any time and also find out who leads the race for the ultimate Ceat International Cricket Award for the Year 2003 – 04 on the internet as well as on their mobile phones.

    The sport section (www.in.sports.yahoo.com) provides comprehensive ratings tables with top scorers in each category in which the award is given that includes best player, team, batsman, bowler and fielder. A link at the bottom of the page connects users to the complete points scoring system.

    An official release informs that another unique feature on the Yahoo! India website is that users can even access the Ceat Cricket Rating from their mobile phones. Users can send an SMS “CCR” or “CCR BOWLER” or “CCR BATSMEN” or “CCR FIELDER” or “CCR TEAM” to 8243 and they will receive the daily rating . To find out the CEAT International Cricketer of the Year 2003 – 04, the user should compose an SMS saying, “CCR CRICKETER ” and send it to 8243. He will then receive details of the Ceat Cricketer of the Year on his screen.

    This service is available to all subscribers of Orange in Mumbai, Hutch, Airtel subscribers across India, Oasis in Rajasthan, RPG in Chennai, Escotel subscribers in Haryana, UP (West) & Kerala. Speaking about the tie-up, Yahoo! India’s director of sales and business development Neville Taraporewalla made the following remarks, “We at Yahoo! India have offered mobility to all our users by offering our mail and messenger services on the mobile phones through our association with the leading cellular operators in the country. Cricket is a religion in India and so our tie up with Ceat Cricket Rating is another step forward in the mobile internet space where a cricket lover is able to view the cricket rating on a daily basis both on the web and on the Mobile phone.”

    Ceat’s VP sales and marketing Kalyan Paul said, ” As part of our new marketing plan to develop a younger image for the brand, Ceat is exploring new mediums to create a contact point with its consumers. Since, there is a lot of synergy in between two wheeler owners and net audience, we are using the internet as a medium. We are happy to work with Yahoo! India, the leading web portal to bring CEAT Cricket ratings to cricket lovers across India anytime.”

  • Yahoo to buy search-software maker Inktomi

    LOS ANGELES: Yahoo is all set to buy Internet search-software maker Inktomi for $235 million. Through the acquisition, the portal looks to strengthening its position in the growing Web search business.

    A Reuters report indicates that this will help Yahoo lessen its dependence on Google. Inktomi’s paid-search capabilities will generate advertising income for Yahoo, which is perceiving Google as an increasing threat with the recent launch of its online shopping site and a news Web site. According to comScore Networks’ Internet audience measurement service, Yahoo ranked number two in November among all search engines with 40.6 million unique visitors. Of the top 15 such sites, three were powered by Inktomi’s search services.

    Reports indicate that Inktomi has been losing money and therefore reduced its staff by 20 per cent a couple of months ago. The deal between it and Yahoo is expected to close in the first quarter of 2003, subject to approval by regulators and Inktomi stockholders.