Tag: Times Internet

ESPN INC bags US region IPL media rights for $12.4 million

MUMBAI: The marketing committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met in Chennai on 28 February, 2015 to decide the media rights of the Pepsi IPL for the United States region for the three-year period (2015 to 2017).

BCCI received three bids from M/S Willow, Times Internet and ESPN and after following tender policy, the rights were awarded to ESPN INC at a total fee of $12.4 million for the three-year period.

Speaking about the association, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said, “We are delighted to have entered into a strategic partnership with one of the leading platforms of global sport, M/S ESPN, which will deliver the widest possible reach ever for the Pepsi IPL in the United States.”

February 28, 2015
Star India bags online rights for IPL

MUMBAI: Star India’s wholly owned subsidiary Novi Digital Entertainment has bagged media rights for the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL). The rights have been acquired for Rs 302.2 crore for the next three seasons, which is substantially higher than the fee of the previous rights period.

The Marketing Committee of The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met in Mumbai on 10 February, 2015 to receive the bids for which a cumulative reserve price of Rs 120 crore over the three seasons was set.

The three entities that submitted their tender were – Times Internet, Multi Screen Media and Novi Digital Entertainment. The committee, after following the due tender process, awarded the online broadcasting rights of Pepsi IPL to Novi Digital Entertainment.

BCCI Hony secretary Sanjay Patel said, “Our partnership with Novi Digital Entertainment augurs well for the Pepsi IPL, as well as the millions of fans who follow the tournament and we are delighted to commence an association with the organisation whose bid was found to be the most deserving.”

BCCI had earlier published an Invitation To Tender (ITT) for certain media rights relating to the Pepsi Indian Premier League (Pepsi IPL), for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons. The last date to submit the tender in person was 12 pm on 10 February 2015.

February 10, 2015
Digital video network Culture Machine raises $18 million

MUMBAI: Culture Machine, a digital video network, has raised $18 million in series B funding led by Tiger Global, Zodius Capital and Times Internet. The company had previously raised $3.5 million in series A funding from Zodius Capital and Times Internet.

Culture Machine, co-founded by Sameer Pitalwalla and Venkat Prasad, former Disney and Youtube executives, creates digital video entertainment for the internet generation by combining cutting edge technology with great content.

“In a multi-screen, multi-platform world where content is personalised and social is the new distribution, creating targeted content for global communities at scale is a challenge. These digital video platforms are the next generation of distribution, and we are building a next generation media company that uses our proprietary technology platforms, to know what content to create and create that content at scale,” said Pitalwalla and Prasad in a joint statement.

Tiger Global Management partner Lee Fixel added, “Culture Machine Media has built a world-class technology platform and the largest creator network in the country. We’re excited to support the company as it innovates digital content for a rapidly growing audience.”

“Culture Machine is uniquely positioned to build “the” leading media company for the internet generation. We are very supportive of Sameer, Venkat and the team given their ability to produce and curate world class content using a cutting edge intelligence platform that uses big data to help understand, identify and monetise what content resonates with which audiences across multiple video platforms,” said Zodius Capital managing director Gautam Patel.

Chris LaRosa, former product head of YouTube Music, has joined the Culture Machine’s advisory board. At YouTube Music, LaRosa was responsible to build the vision, strategy, and the products that turned YouTube into the most popular music service on the internet and a $1 billion business for artists and labels.

Culture Machine has offices and studio facilities in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Chennai and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Aleph Group, Singapore.

Culture Machine has offices and studio facilities in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Chennai and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Aleph Group, Singapore.

February 5, 2015
Times Internet partners with Say Media to launch digital magazines

MUMBAI: Times Internet has partnered with Say Media, a digital publishing company, to launch the India Chapters of two of their digital magazines Remodelista, a home design website, and ReadWrite, a tech new site.

The strategic partnership between Say Media and Times Internet will fall under its initiative – Times Local Partners (TLP) Group. Both Remodelista and ReadWrite join the growing TLP portfolio, which has already rolled out the Indian editions of Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Techradar, Business Insider and IGN.

Times Local Partners business head Puneet Singhvi said, “We are looking forward to expanding the horizons for Remodelista and ReadWrite.com in India. The Indian art of interior designing combined with the global design trends laid out by Remodelista India would make for an exciting read for the audience. The India version of ReadWrite will further augment the fledgling TLP Tech network and deliver latest from Indian and global tech news and analysis for its audience. The websites will complement our leadership in design and technology content offerings giving new avenues to our users as well as advertisers.”

Under the partnership, Times Internet will roll out and grow Remodelista and ReadWrite locally in India. TIL will also have exclusive rights to the two brands and their content in India. The Indian version of Remodelista would marry its coverage of global home design trends with Indian interior designing while ReadWrite India coverage will include the latest from local tech circles which will augment the global tech news stories.

Say Media publisher Josh Groves said “We are delighted to find a proven partner in The Times of India Group to extend the global reach of ReadWrite.com and Remodelista.com into the Indian market. Technology news and home design inspiration are of great interest to Indian readers, and our partnership with Times Internet Partners enables Say Media to deliver our award-winning content directly to this market. We look forward to working with The Times of India Group for years to come.”

June 12, 2014
Times Internet acquires majority stake in CouponDunia

MUMBAI: Times Internet, the leading digital product company which is a part of The Times of India Group has acquired a majority stake in Mumbai-based CouponDunia Media, which owns and operates CouponDunia.

CouponDunia will retain its distinct brand identity and will continue to operate under the leadership of CEO Sameer Parwani, who will work closely with Times Internet and other Times of India Group companies. Times Internet’s existing deals site TimesDeal will merge with CouponDunia.

With this partnership, CouponDunia is poised to emerge as the leading destination for online and offline deals across India. The combined service’s websites, mobile applications, e-mail newsletters and alerts and social media presence will enable consumers to search for, discover, and source the best offers from leading retailers and brands.

Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said, “This investment continues The Times Group’s strategy of strengthening its position in digital media. Sameer has built a great business from scratch. We are as passionate as he is about offering the best value choices to consumers. We are excited at the prospect of leveraging Times’ resources, including TimesDeal’s existing local deals presence, to build an even more compelling value proposition for consumers with CouponDunia.”

“In a short span of under four years, CouponDunia has emerged as the leading Indian destination for digital coupons. We receive over two million visits a month and are driving Rs 500 crore of purchases annually from over 1500 online retailers and brands. We’re thrilled to join Times. With their support, CouponDunia will be better placed to offer even greater value to the consumer,” concluded CouponDunia India founder and CEO, Sameer Parwani.

May 28, 2014
BoxTV adds premium international content for its viewers

MUMBAI: BoxTV.com, an online video service of Times Internet has tied up with KM plus Media, a Czech Republic based production house. KM Plus Media produces wildlife documentaries, children titles, lifestyle and travel shows to name a few genres from extended catalogue of more than 1500+ hours of TV programming.

KM Plus Media together with its US partners Big Media covers the worldwide distribution with focus on its original productions as well as content of third party producers, mainly from USA and Australia.

As a part of the offering, BoxTV will feature more than 100 hours of premium KM Plus Media content for audiences in the Indian sub-continent. The content will be available for free ad-supported viewing, adding to BoxTV’s already large library of more than 17,000 hours of content across Hollywood, Bollywood, regional movies and television shows. The content will be available across the web and BoxTV’s mobile and device apps from April 2014.

“Content from KM Plus media add to our global content catalogue. Our users write to us every day asking for more shows around travel, adventure and wildlife. KM offers premium content around these genres. International content has been our USP and this tie up is another step towards it,” says BoxTV business head Pandurang Nayak.

“Our content appeals to a wide range of audiences. BoxTV is part of the largest media conglomerate in India and it is a great platform to showcase our content. This online video service has a great viewing experience across devices, which makes it the ideal platform for high-quality content such as ours,” adds KM Plus Media managing director Ladislav Svestka.

April 21, 2014
Times Internet launches gocricket.com

MUMBAI: Times Internet recently launched a cricket portal – www.gocricket.com – a cricket news destination with original, editorial content, deeply integrated video features, and a rich, cross-platform experience.

Cricket fans will be able to watch Pepsi Indian Premier League 2014 anytime, anywhere on gocricket’s multiple digital platforms. Gocricket launches live on web, iPhone, Android, iPad, and WAP, readily enabled for featured phones and low bandwidth users as well. And when Pepsi IPL begins, the website will also feature a video scorecard, with real time video clips integrated into the scorecard.

“We are also proud to announce that one of India’s most successful captains, Sourav Ganguly, will exclusively share his critical insights into the game on our platform.” said gocricket.com business head Ruchir Khanna in a statement. “Gocricket will be the most comprehensive web and mobile cricket destination, offering a multimedia experience.”

Sourav Ganguly on his part added: “I am extremely happy to be associated with go cricket.com and be involved as a guest editor. We will bring cricket news to you like never before. Stay with us.”

Along with rich photos and videos, gocricket will also feature writing from around the world, connecting cricket fans with experts and writers. It will distinguish with cricket records and trivia, making it simple and easy for the fans. In one sentence, gocricket aims to be consumers’ first stop for all cricket content needs.

April 14, 2014
Times Internet partners with Amazon Appstore for Android

MUMBAI: Times Internet Limited, India’s largest online network, has joined hands with the Amazon Appstore, a mobile application store for the Android operating system. Apps like Gaana, ZigWheels, Economic Times, Speaking Tree, BoxTV and The Times of India by Times Internet (TIL) are now available on the Amazon Appstore. The apps that are downloadable on all Android devices including Kindle can be accessed from www.amazon.in/appstore.

The Android OS is available in over 200 countries and accessible to over 240 million Amazon customers. It offers a great selection of localized content for customers on news, automotive, spirituality and entertainment.

Speaking on the occasion, Pratik Mazumder,Vice President & Head Marketing, Times Internet, said, “We are delighted to announce our new tie up with the Amazon Appstore. TIL has always been striving to innovate and implement ways to make the customer experience better. This is another endeavour by TIL that has set a new industry standard. We are confident that this partnership will benefit our users in a large way. This association will make searching and buying of various apps from the TIL stable easier and more convenient.”

“We are extremely happy that TIL has chosen to partner with us for apps. As the Amazon Appstore celebrates its 3rd anniversary, we continue to add strong partnerships to bring locally relevant content to our users in nearly 200 countries worldwide. Now our users can download news, entertainment and other content from TIL directly to their Android phones and tablets, as well as Kindle Fire tablets. This is a win-win situation,” says Mr. Parag Gupta, Country Head, Amazon Appstore.

The Times of India app brings you breaking news and unrivalled coverage of national, international, city, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business, health, science and technology topics from India’s most-read and most-trusted newspaper.

Apps Selection available on the Amazon Appstore: Gaana, ZigWheels , The Economic Times, The Times of India, Speaking Tree, BoxTV ,TimesCity

Gaana App offers an endless collection of songs from Bollywood, International music and varied languages like Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali and many more Indian regional languages. ( International content For Indian geography only)

ZigWheels App offers an ultimate source of information on automobiles. This app not only lets you research new cars, used cars, and bikes in the market but also brings you latest news, reviews, comparisons, photos, and videos of your favorite cars and bikes.

Economic Times app helps customers track latest business & economy news as it happens. The app gives a comprehensive and real time updates across markets, business, and industry to help consumers stay updated with an unrivalled coverage. The build in Portfolio tracker helps the consumers to simply track and manage their wealth on the go.

Times of India App offers complete and up-to-date coverage of everything that is relevant and interesting — anytime, anywhere, bringing breaking news and unrivalled coverage of national, international, city, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business, health, science and technology topics from India’s most-read and most-trusted newspaper.

TimesCity App is your comprehensive discovery destination which lets you to explore recommended restaurants, movies, bars, events etc. In your city.

Speakingtree.in is India’s first spiritual social network online where spiritual enthusiasts discuss spirituality under the guidance of world renowned spiritual masters like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Deepak Chopra, SadhguruJaggiVasudev, Andrew Cohen, MaulanaWahiduddin and many others.

BoxTV is India’s premium online video streaming service for watching Hollywood, Bollywood and regional movies &TV shows on your kindle. It delivers premium movie watching experience with high quality streaming offering content across 9+ languages and 20+ genres.

April 4, 2014
Sony Liv signs distribution deal with BoxTV

MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s video on demand service Sony Liv has inked a deal with Times Internet’s BoxTV to make its video content available on BoxTV’s website. The service will be available to BoxTV users worldwide.

Speaking on the development, Sony Entertainment Network executive VP – new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani said in a press statement, “Our vision is to make Sony Liv the leader in Video Entertainment and to reach audiences, both organically and inorganically. We need to expand our reach and be where our consumers are. This distribution partnership with Box TV is a step in fulfilling our vision.”

BoxTV users will get to see over 18 years of content from Sony’s stable, covering genres including drama, comedy, thriller and many more on the platform. The content will include currently running shows that BoxTV users can watch across MSM’s leading channels – Sony and Sab. In addition to original complete content, the deal will also include content made specifically for the web that include sneak peek videos, “Quickisodes” and “Short-crunch” episodes.

BoxTV business head Pandurang Nayak added, “We are very happy to bring Sony Liv’s content for BoxTV users. The association is also a big new leap for BoxTV where we’re building more and more on the platform through aggregation of content via unique tie-ups with existing digital brands like Sony Liv. We believe that this enhances the experience for users to get more at a single destination and enables content brands like Sony Liv to reach out to wider base of audience, creating a win-win for both our services, with the end-user reaping the maximum benefit. It is an exciting step forward for us to build BoxTV as a platform of choice for both premium content owners and users alike.”

March 26, 2014
Outbrain signs strategic partnership with Times Internet

NEW DELHI: Outbrain, a content discovery platform, has signed a multi-year strategic partnership agreement with Times Internet. The move will help Times Internet to advance its native content strategy that the group has pioneered for many years.

Outbrain’s Engage, which is a platform that helps publishers deliver personalised content recommendations to its audiences, will be used across desktop, tablet and mobile devices on all of the Times Internet’s web properties including Times of India, Economic Times and India Times.

“At Times Internet, we have always strived to give our readers what they wanted. We are delighted to announce TIL’s association with Outbrain, to fortify the values which we stand for. Outbrain’s proven technology places the right content in front of the right people at the right time enriching the users’ content experience,” said Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani.

“Outbrain’s mission is to help people discover the most interesting, relevant and trusted content wherever they are and so this deal is a major milestone. Our deep partnership with Times Internet showcases the full capability of our innovative technology which firmly demonstrates to the Indian publisher and media market that Content Marketing is here to stay. We are looking forward to working with Satyan and his team to grow this new space very quickly in India,” said Outbrain regional director Anthony Hearne.

Outbrain Engage serves Times Internet viewers with the most interesting and personalised content recommendations possible.

March 24, 2014