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Tag: Puneet Gupt

  • Times Internet adopts Unified ID 2.0

    Times Internet adopts Unified ID 2.0

    Mumbai: Times Internet announces its adoption of Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), a revolutionary identity framework designed for the open internet. This cutting-edge identity solution empowers advertisers to deliver highly targeted content by aligning first-party data with audience information within Times Internet’s fully authenticated logged-in dataset. In response to the deprecation of third-party cookies, forward-thinking publishers are embracing privacy-conscious approaches to navigate the evolving advertising landscape and strategies for a cookie-free future.

    The Trade Desk spearheaded the development of UID2, empowering consumers through a privacy-conscious identifier linked to encrypted email addresses. This open-source identity framework has swiftly gained traction among technology providers, advertisers, and publishers reliant on advertising revenue to sustain their businesses and support quality journalism.

    As India’s most prominent digital media conglomerate, Times Internet boasts an extensive network with over 415 million monthly visitors, reaching more than 54 per cent of internet users nationwide. Home to established brands such as TOI (Times of India), Economic Times, and GadgetsNow, Times Internet proudly becomes the first digital partner in India to embrace this innovative identity solution. UID2, which is interoperable with other identity frameworks, prioritises privacy and transparency while enabling advertisers to connect with more relevant audiences.

    Times Internet COO Puneet Gupt heralds a new era for India’s digital media landscape as the company takes a bold step forward by adopting Unified ID 2.0. In alignment with the industry’s data-driven evolution, this innovative identity framework not only empowers advertisers with precise targeting capabilities but also underscores Times Internet’s commitment to delivering premium content that readers trust. Unified ID 2.0 enhances the user experience, offering more relevant advertising while ensuring consumers enjoy heightened protection and control in the ever-changing digital advertising landscape.”

    The Trade Desk general manager of inventory partnerships Bihao Pan emphasised the significance of Unified ID 2.0 in the evolving advertising landscape, stating, “The deprecation of third-party cookies necessitates publishers adopting independent, privacy-centric solutions like Unified ID 2.0. As we progress towards a cookie-free future, Unified ID 2.0 offers an upgrade to current industry standards, resulting in a more personalised advertising experience for consumers. It also helps publishers address advertisers’ requirements for enhanced targeting and better measurement across various digital platforms. We’re proud to support Times Internet in their pioneering efforts for media in India.”

  • Times Internet’s transformation from media company to tech company

    Times Internet’s transformation from media company to tech company

    KOLKATA: Digital disruption is reshaping the media and entertainment ecosystem at a rapid pace. As media companies adapt to the change, investment in technology is emerging as the need of the hour. Times Internet Ltd (TIL) COO Puneet Gupt also emphasised that every media company needs to have a tech mindset, during a virtual fireside chat hosted by Indiantelevision.com.

    Without proper technology being built and deployed, media companies will not be able to understand how the next wave of change could possibly affect the business, Gupt explained. TIL has successfully transformed itself from a media company having tech as a delivery engine to being a tech company that has media as an asset, he shared. Going forwards, tech is going to fuel TIL’s growth, making sure that all of its businesses grow on the back of the user base it already has.

    TIL leverages its massive reach for any newly launched product on the back of technology. Gupt explained that all of TIL properties are internally connected with a technology flywheel that tries to move users from a low ARPU high reach kind of product to a high ARPU kind of product. While the organisation has gradually built its tech segment over the last five-six years, the approach helps it to leverage the entire reach of TIL as well as all the learning for better content, tech and product decision for any new property.

    “We think we have cracked the science of virality and converting content to commerce. A few years ago, when the algorithms had not changed, some TIL properties were at the top of the virality charts,” Gupt said.

    He also shed light on TIL’s initiatives that have yielded positive results for the company. “For the last four-five years, we have been working on a bunch of components whether it is our own content management system, whether it is AI or ML algorithms for a lot of work that we do, or on the adtech side where we think there is a large vacuum of right technology being available to the publisher. The advertising technology today is heavily favouring the bias. It’s really built for the buy-side, not on the sales side,” he added.

    Realising the publishers’ need, TIL built its own ad tech engine – Colombia. Later, the company put the best of content management and advertising ability to build M-360, which is gaining good traction. Currently, M360 has 80-90 publishers on board and Gupt said that they expect the number to reach a few hundred in six-nine months.

    According to Gupt, 20-30 per cent of large media companies in India have already started investing in tech. But the initiative needs to reach medium and small publishers as well because a lot of “low-hanging staff” in newsrooms is going to be automated soon. However, he clarified that it does not mean that journalists might lose their importance. While technology can make churning out a part of content faster, journalists can focus on detailed, in-depth content.

    “You will get visitors, your visitors will have to convert to loyalists and the loyalists will have to convert to paid subscribers. This entire cycle has to work well,” he said. “The content that is created for the subscription side will be measured on the ability to convert a loyalist to a paid user; the ability to retain and renew a paid user,” he added further.

    With emerging technologies, the conversation around data protection is also becoming more prominent. Gupt stated that publishers should focus on respecting users’ choice and consent, focusing on receiving data properly rather than collecting it, thereby upholding the ‘right to be forgotten’. He termed TIL as a “worthy custodian of data” as it has always managed data with utmost care.

  • Times Internet rolls back pay cuts as business picks up

    Times Internet rolls back pay cuts as business picks up

    KOLKATA: As media companies start seeing a rebound in business after the initial shock of the Covid2019 crisis, many of the biggies have begun rolling back pay cuts. The latest addition to the list is Times Internet Limited (TIL).

    In a virtual fireside chat hosted by Indiantelevision.com, TIL COO Puneet Gupt said that employee salaries are back to the original levels and variables have been paid as well. While many media organisations are reducing team sizes, TIL has started selective hiring. In fact, TIL has seen gradual growth in last four-five months as market forces gain equilibrium, Gupt said.

    Recently, New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) also said that it has ended salary cuts imposed on employees in the wake of the pandemic. According to media reports, major broadcasters like ZeeL, Viacom18, Star & Disney India also ended pay cuts starting from end September.

  • Puneet Gupt on Times Internet’s performance post-Covid

    Puneet Gupt on Times Internet’s performance post-Covid

    KOLKATA: Given the sudden uncertainties, digital publishers were fretting about the downturn in business at the beginning of Covid2019 crisis. Anticipating a very troublesome period, the publishers prepared to counter the worst situation. Fortunately, the industry has witnessed a better-than-expected state of business post Covid, Times Internet Ltd (TIL) COO Puneet Gupt said.

    In a virtual fireside chat with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, Gupt spoke about the overall sentiment in the industry which is turning out to be brighter with each passing month. According to him, TIL, as well as other publications, are now gaining momentum across all metrics. While there was a huge slump in ad spend in the first couple of months when physical movements were curtailed and the market was down, there has been a gradual growth month-on-month basis since things have started opening up, especially in the last four-five months.

     “As I say, it is a culmination of sequential growth that we are seeing month-on-month in our businesses. Maybe from July onwards revenue has picked up. I would be slightly worried about Q4 but at least with Diwali and going up to December I see that there is possible traction to build,” Gupt said.

    Despite the pessimism around festive spend in the industry, TIL has witnessed good business during Diwali compared to the last year. Categories like ed-tech, OTT, gaming and digital-only products were the big spenders this festive season. These categories have picked up the overall ad spend, leading the way while other categories are following.

    Amid the Covid crisis, several brands have moved their budgets to digital. Gupt acknowledged that the re-allocation of funds has helped them. “I personally think it’s a short term move and will be more even for a slight shift on digital and not the 30-40 per cent shift that we are seeing right now. But it may stay back at 10 per cent higher shift and rest goes back to the mediums where it came from,” Gupt noted. He added that TIL has witnessed significant growth in native advertising and video segment but display advertising has stayed under pressure.

    “We are doubling down on what we are doing. As an organisation, we have always said that programmatic is good as it gets us revenue and gives transparency to the buyer, but a one-on-one relationship with the buyer is important. Hence, we have a large sales team when some of the publishers were scaling down their sales teams and doubling programmatic. We were saying that we welcome programmatic but we want to double down on our sales team, relationships, people-to-people connect,” Gupt elaborated on the measures that have helped TIL to stay on the growth track.

    In terms of user engagement, there has been a huge spike on MX Player. The over-the-top (OTT) platform has seen 5X growth on time spent post-Covid. But the audio segment has not been to catch up with the growth of the video segment. TIL’s news properties have seen 40-50 per cent growth both in terms of engagement and visitors.

    While TIL has built a strong business on the back of ad revenue over the years, it still has a long way to go on subscription side, with a base of two million subscribers. “I don't think that 2 million subscribers is a challenge. It is a big success. We started this journey a few years ago and it’s something that all of us are learning. We are experimenting, learning and building it out. I think the next level of growth is just ahead of us. We think that in four-five years of time, about three-five per cent of our users would be paying in some form or the other. We are building for the long haul and creating consumer products across the ecosystem,” Gupt commented. He hopes TIL to maintain an average revenue per user between Rs 500-1000 per annum for that large subscriber base.”

  • Virtual Fireside Chat with Puneet Gupt, Coo, Times Internet Ltd

    Virtual Fireside Chat with Puneet Gupt, Coo, Times Internet Ltd

    Taking ahead its virtual fireside series with experts across media and entertainment industry, Indiantelevision.com will be hosting Times Internet COO Puneet Gupt on 25 November. The session will be hosted by founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.

    Gupt drives the strategy, vision and execution for all the internet mobile and properties of the group. He has close to two decades of experience in identifying market opportunities, product management, digital marketing, app growth and retention, monetisation of digital assets.

    He has been associated with Times Group over a decade. He was elevated as COO in 2018.He played a critical role in Times Internet’s news business when he was heading the segment.

    Tune in to know more!

  • Times Internet adds Durga Raghunath and Rohit Saran to leadership team

    Times Internet adds Durga Raghunath and Rohit Saran to leadership team

    NEW DELHI: Times Internet has embarked on an ambitious plan to cater to users across the world. To strengthen this next chapter of user-centric transformation, the company has roped in Durga Raghunath and Rohit Saran to lead its largest base of users into the next generation of engagement and reader revenue.

    Raghunath has been named digital head of Times of India, Mirror Brands (Mumbai Mirror, Pune Mirror, Bangalore Mirror and Ahmedabad Mirror), Newspoint, Gadgets Now and Etimes. Most recently as SVP Growth at Zomato and previously as founder and CEO of Firstpost and Network18 Digital, Raghunath brings a unique understanding of transactions, news and publishing. She began her career in book publishing with HarperCollins in New York. She has an MBA from the Indian School of Business and a publishing degree from Columbia University.

    Saran has been named as the chief editor of Times Internet.  He was previously the managing editor for The Times of India (print) and executive editor of The Economic Times (print). He has held senior editorial positions at the India Today Group where he was executive editor of India Today and editor of Business Today. He also edited The Khaleej Times in Dubai. He has conceptualised and launched several publications, including ET Magazine, ET Wealth and Money Today. He was also the editor of the south Asian edition of Harvard Business Review and Scientific American. He holds a master’s degree in economics and has a deep interest in data and digital journalism. 

    Times Internet CEO Gautam Sinha said, “We are excited about our next stage of technology-led relationships with users, content producers and advertisers. Durga’s entrepreneurial energy and experience, and Rohit’s broad editorial exposure and deep understanding make us believe we can set and achieve audacious goals over the next five years. Both senior leaders would report to Times Internet COO Puneet Gupt.”

  • Times of India & Healthians celebrate National Health Check-up Day with free health check-ups on

    Times of India & Healthians celebrate National Health Check-up Day with free health check-ups on

    MUMBAI: To celebrate India’s first National Health Check-up Day, instituted by the Times of India in association with Healthians, people across seven major Indian cities got free health check-ups to educate them about the importance of periodic check-ups.

    As a part of the observations, TOI and Healthians instated a total of 11 checkup camps across seven major locations – Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai, Thane, and Noida. The activity looked to impact and enable more than 500 families to consider preventive healthcare measures.

    As of now, only 9.6 per cent of the overall healthcare expenditure goes towards preventive healthcare. The National Health Check-up Day is a constituent of the Healthy India Fit India (HiFi) movement organised, a joint undertaking by TOI and Healthians, that aims to encourage people to adopt preventive healthcare as a lifestyle choice to help them avoid significant repercussions to their health and wallets.

    Speaking on the initiative, Healthians founder and CEO Deepak Sahni said, "The idea of dedicating a day for health stemmed from the behavior of millennials, both men and women in the age group of 29-40 years. They are so busy in their careers and improving the quality of their lives, that health is often ignored. It’s only when they cross a certain life stage, or when someone close suffers a health problem they realise what they have lost in terms of health. We want people to realise that before it’s too late, their health needs their attention to be able to avoid illnesses.”

    The HiFi initiative was commenced with a pilot campaign that saw over 3 lakh people from across the country pledging to undertake health check-ups on 1 December, signifying its impact on raising awareness about healthcare.

    Multiple celebrities including famous Indian boxers Mary Kom and Vijender Singh, cricketer Sushma Verma, Table Tennis player Manika Batra, Bollywood actresses Sameera Reddy, Chavvi Mittal, and Nisha Rawal had also pledged to undertake health check-ups to celebrate the National Health Checkup Day.

    Times Internet COO Puneet Gupt said, “We firmly believe in supporting causes with initiatives that truly matter. Observing an annual National Health Day is a part of our mission to help India grow stronger by enabling every Indian to pledge for a healthier version of themselves through preventive health checkups. We are excited to partner with Healthians to be a part of this journey to call for a healthier and happier India.”

  • Watch India’s Business Leaders Brewing Business & Cooking Strategies At Times Food’s Boardroom Kitchen

    Watch India’s Business Leaders Brewing Business & Cooking Strategies At Times Food’s Boardroom Kitchen

    MUMBAI: Not all business decisions are made in the boardroom with a team of suit-clad, experienced executives ̶ some can be made wearing an apron and white chef hat, over chopping vegetables and cooking lip-smacking delicacies. This is exactly what is happening at Times Food’s Boardroom Kitchen, India’s first reality web series that portrays CEOs of famous companies in the kitchen, enjoying the time off to cook and having interesting conversations with celebrity mentor chef Aditya Bal.

    The weekly web series is live on timesfood.com. The first season of this extraordinary reality web series is set to have six episodes. The bigwigs who are a part of Season 1 episodes are Devendra Chawla, CEO of Spencer’s Retail, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO of Droom Technologies, Varun Gupta, Director of Kent RO, Samir Modi, Founder and MD of Modicare and Dhiraj Malhotra, CEO of Delhi Capitals. The show will present the little-known personality traits of these successful head honchos in front of viewers who are interested not only in the culinary field but also in leading businesses.

    Speaking on the potential of this innovative show, Puneet Gupt, COO – Times Internet said, “Food is the perfect recipe for great conversation – and what better way to take have an insightful peek into the lives of some of the biggest names in the Indian business sector than while cooking great food together. We are excited to be bringing the inaugural edition of the Times Food Boardroom Kitchen for foodies and business enthusiasts across the country where they catch startup founders and business CEOs hanging out in the kitchen chatting, joking and sharing personal stories.”

    “I had a blast cooking and chatting with Aditya. As an entrepreneur, it's hard to miss how cooking and leading a business are so much similar in the way that they both need the great blend of ingredients to turn out well. I sincerely hope viewers would love the show." Boardroom Kitchen guest, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder-CEO at Droom said.

    This unique mix of food and business is presented by Glen Appliances, the name behind Glen India, which is the country’s largest home and kitchen appliances online store, and powered by Figaro Olive Oil, one of the most trusted and oldest olive oil brand which continues to be, committed to quality and keeping the nutrients of food intact. The International Institute of Culinary Arts is the culinary expertise partner for this web series. The institute is known for its comprehensive culinary courses and contributes to educating the chefs of tomorrow, with a motto of ‘creating excellence in hospitality.’

    Boardroom Kitchen will not only acquaint you with interesting recipes for your stomach but will also give you some food for thought. It is a unique opportunity to discover the never-before-seen sides of these business magnates who will be in an arena that is unlike the one they are usually seen in. Don’t forget to go online on timesfood.com to watch the first season of Boardroom Kitchen. Bon appetit.

  • Times Internet announces elevation of Puneet Gupt as its COO

    Times Internet announces elevation of Puneet Gupt as its COO

    MUMBAI: India’s leading digital products company, Times Internet announced the elevation of Puneet Gupt as the COO of Times Internet,with immediate effect.

    Puneet has been associated with the Times Group for over ten years and and since 2011, he has been head of Times Internet’s vast and diverse News business. Under his leadership, the company has been able to reinforce the #1 position of TOI, reach the #1 position in languages and launched products like eTimes, GadgetsNow and NewsPoint to address emerging opportunities. Puneet has played a critical role in Times Internet’s News business registering a stunning 6.5X growth and enabled the company to become the world’s #1 premium digital publisher.

    Announcing Puneet’s elevation Gautam Sinha, CEO of Times Internet said, “Puneet has been an invaluable asset to Times Internet. He is audacious, customer-obsessed and has rich experience in starting, growing and scaling up digital businesses. Puneet will be working closely with me to drive our ambitious growth agenda. He will lead our efforts in making Times Internet the go-to digital destination for every Indian’s information, entertainment and transaction needs.”

    Puneet added, “Times Internet is a company that dares you to think big, and empowers you to make your dreams a reality. I look forward to amplify our growth by identifying and building category defining digital products that become the benchmark in quality and value proposition for our customers.”

    It’s turning out to be quite an eventful year for Times Internet. The company partnered with Tencent to invest in Gaana, acquired and re-launched a video OTT platform MX Play, as well as launched popular gaming platforms like BaaziNow & CricPlay. The company’s dining out platform, Dineout acquired restaurant management software firm Torqus last month.

    With 40+ digital products, Times Internet reaches 400+ million people every month. Most of its digital products are market leaders across news, sports, music, video and more in India.

  • Times Internet launches Samayam in South India

    Times Internet launches Samayam in South India

    MUMBAI: Times of India Group’s digital products company Times Internet (TIL) has launched Samayam – a news, entertainment and lifestyle content destination in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages.

     

    Samayam aims to bridge the gap between users looking for quality content in their language and trustworthy platforms providing them.

     

    Times Internet head of news business Puneet Gupt said, “We are really excited to launch Samayam. Mobile led media landscape is evolving rapidly in India and we hope to become the destination of choice for millions of Indians and Indian diaspora users across languages and platforms.”

     

    Samayam is available as an Android app, on mobile web and also on desktop. With the launch of Samayam, Times Internet’s language offerings are now available across eight Indian languages namely Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi and Bangla – in addition to English.