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Tag: Times Internet

  • Times Internet launches Gaana Awards 2014

    Times Internet launches Gaana Awards 2014

    MUMBAI: The much-awaited  awards in the digital music platform is here. Times Internet presents the inaugural Gaana Awards which celebrates music, both Indian and international.

     

    Gaana.com, the largest online music broadcaster in the country which has a catalogue of 3 million songs across various languages, has announced the launch of the Gaana Music Awards 2014. The awards will be determined on the  basis of actual playouts & user consumption across  the digital platforms on Gaana. With over 2 billion minutes of music consumption & over  half a billion song playouts, Gaana is poised to declare the “actual music tastes and preferences of Indians globally.”

     

    The Gaana Music awards will have innovative and interesting award categories like Fastest-to-First Song and the Fastest Growing Music Label in the country. The other categories for which the awards would be presented are Most popular International song, Most popular Hindi song, Most popular Hindi album, Most popular regional song (Tamil and Kannada) and Most popular playback singer (Male and Female). It will honour both Indian and international music, another first in the industry.

     

    On this delightful occasion, Pawan Agarwal, Business Head, Gaana, said, “We are excited, as we launch these much anticipated awards. As a pioneering award in the digital music space, we hope, it will become much bigger in the coming years as the online consumption of music grows. We are extremely delighted to honour the best of the best in the Indian music fraternity.”

     

    On this delightful occasion, Pawan Agarwal, Business Head, Gaana, said, “We are excited to launch these much anticipated award in the digital music space. We hope it will become much bigger in the coming years as the online consumption of music grows. Also, we are extremely  delighted to honour the best of the best in the Indian music fraternity.”

     

     Awards will be promoted across TIL networks with a unique visitor base of more than 45 Million visitors per month.

     

     Gaana.com is India’s No. 1 music broadcasting service with 7.5 million active monthly users. Around 4.2 million apps are downloaded in less than a year. It has 3 million registered users and is growing with a content catalogue of over 3 million songs in more than 21 languages.

     

    TIL is the digital venture of  the Times of India Group which spans news, MVAS, E-Commerce, Music, Video and Location Based Services.

  • Star India partners with Times Internet to distribute IPL on digital in India

    Star India partners with Times Internet to distribute IPL on digital in India

    MUMBAI: Star India has licensed the digital distribution rights for IPL 2014 from Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group. Star India will offer streaming and video on demand on starsports.com, the Star Sports app, and on mobile operator services powered by Star Sports. Times Internet will distribute IPL streaming and video on demand on its cricket destination on web and mobile, powered by a starsports.com video player. Both companies will market the joint proposition, and Star India will be solely responsible for monetisation, including advertising sales.

     

    Last year, IPL online witnessed a 56 per cent growth in unique visitors, with over 200 million video views. This year, India’s largest media houses will co-distribute IPL, offering unparalleled reach and viewership.

     
    The move deepens Star’s commitment to dramatically shape the sports experience on digital. Launched in June 2013, starsports.com has become the go-to destination for following the best of international sports. It has redefined the sports experience through a revolutionary video timeline that is a first of its kind in the world of sports, and allows the viewer to keep track of live sports as well as catch up on games with ease. The company has also built an advanced technology infrastructure that enables HD quality streaming across multiple devices.

     
    “At a time when more and more fans are following sports across multiple screens, our aim is to deliver an experience for them that is even better than what is on television. This partnership signals our continuing efforts to transform sports and the digital experience, ”said Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Operating Officer of Star India. “We want to make IPL the world’s largest sporting event on a digital platform this year.”

     
    Satyan Gajwani, Chief Executive Officer of Times Internet, said, “We have been offering our users IPL for three years, and it continues to be a major driver in consumption and brand, recognized as one of the largest online video events worldwide with rapid growth. Our partnership with Star will enable an even larger reach for the property across digital devices.”

     
    starsports.com is India’s first multi-sports digital service with availability across the web and mobile. Powered by live and video rights, it covers the best of world sports including major cricket tournaments, BPL, La Liga and Serie A in football, F1, hockey and tennis.

     
    Times Internet is the largest Indian online media entity, with over 40 million monthly visitors across its numerous digital destinations. Its portfolio includes news, lifestyle content, entertainment, ecommerce, mobile VAS, music & movie streaming, and local services.

     

  • Google+ Social sign in now live on Speakingtree.inpoppp

    MUMBAI: Times Internet and Google have announced the implementation of Google+ Social sign on its spiritual network – Speakingtree.in

    The integration not only simplifies the sign-in process but also maximises interactions and sharing of content among the spiritually inclined on the portal. Signing in through Google allows users to seamlessly share content including articles, tips on meditation, spiritual blogs, forums and conversations thus eliminating the need to create a new username and password. The implementation also enables a one click install of the Android application thus maximising consumption of articles on the move, the company said in a statement.

    The integration has been demoed at the Google I/O this year and is the only representation from the social space in India.

    Times Internet vice president Archana Vohra said, “Google Social Sign helps make sign in more convenient and allows our engaged users to easily access, discover and share exclusive content. The over the air Android install extends our brand engagement across devices.”

    “We had an extremely fast turnaround on the integration of Google social sign in on Speakingtree.in. We look forward to connecting readers on Speakingtree.in and creating even more engaging experiences for them across both Speaking tree and Google,” Google strategic partner manager Matt Gaskell said.

  • Times Internet sees 52 per cent growth in viewership for IPL

    Times Internet sees 52 per cent growth in viewership for IPL

    MUMBAI: As the online video usage grows across the country fans of the money spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) are going online as well.

    This year Times Internet which is the IPL‘s digital partner decided to use Youtube and BoxTV as platforms. It focused on making the IPL a more social experience and the results are telling.

    As per the viewership numbers recorded at 38 matches, which is 50 per cent of the tournament – IPL online across both www.boxtv.com and www.youtube.com/indiatimes combined recorded a 52 per cent growth viewership over 2012 (75.2 million versus 49.3 million last year). Furthermore – the combined viewership of users watching highlights and clips saw a 480 per cent growth in watch hours over 2012.

    This shows that the IPL is being used as a catch-up service to a large extent by people who may not have the time to watch live content. In India, Bangalore and Hyderabad lead the viewership with 14 per cent each, with Delhi coming in second at 10 per cent. The matches that registered the maximum online views were on 23 April between Royal Challenger Bangalore and Pune Warriors India and Mumbai Indians versus Royal Challengers Bangalore on 25 April. The viewers watch the live matches and highlights on YouTube and BoxTv.

    Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said, “Over the last two years, we‘ve offered IPL fans across the world a superior experience online and steadily grown a loyal viewer base. For IPL 2013, we‘ve worked hard to make the online experience more social and interactive than ever before, and our traffic numbers so far are proof enough that IPL fans are loving it.”

    He adds that this year‘s IPL is a far more social experience with Google + Hangouts integrations, and users being able to co-watch IPL with their friends. “We added a Match Tracker to should live data and information contextual to the video match experience.”

    Google India head of media sales Praveen Sharma said, “Better streaming experience, increased mobile and tablet device access and growing awareness about the availability of IPL online is fueling the growth in viewership. In the past, we usually saw rise in the first two weeks of the tournament and then it picked up again during the final week. But this year, the growth has been consistent through the tournament. At this rate we are hopeful of registering strong growth in total viewership by the end of the tournament over last year.”

    ZenithOptimedia partner Navin Khemka said that a lot of younger viewers are watching the IPL online. “The base is small but the growth has been tremendous. The key is the access cost to watch the IPL online. High speed broadband is not cheap. But the moment costs come down which could happen in the coming year IPL viewing online will reach a critical mass. Then advertisers will move towards it in a big way.” Google which handled ad sales this time got six sponsors for the IPL this time including Maruti and Samsung.

  • Zoom TV launches responsive website Zoomtv.in

    Zoom TV launches responsive website Zoomtv.in

     MUMBAI: Bollywood channel Zoom has ramped up its internet presence with a new responsive website Zoomtv.in.

     

    Developed by Times Internet, the new website brings together the best of Bollywood entertainment content and technology to deliver it seamlessly across all devices and platform.

     

    A responsive website automatically adapts and resizes itself according to the resolution of a device. Hence a single site is displayed in different visual formats with flexible images and fluid grids. In today’s world of multi-screen experiences, like phones, tablets, and computers, responsive sites automatically adjust to give the best experience for each one.

     

    The content on the website has also undergone a strong refresh. Besides regular channel programming, the site will feature exclusive videos and unused footages from the channel to offer depth to its video content. Insider gossips, photos, blogs and articles by Zoom Star anchors and reporters will also form core content on the site. Movie trailers, promos, stills and first reports will offer variety to Bollywood fans.

     

    Zoom has put a major focus on reinvigorating its digital products to provide its users with readily accessible content which is relevant, fresh, multiple-format and available on all platforms.

     

    Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said, “Times Internet prides itself in developing cutting edge digital platforms. This is our first responsive design product for the market, complemented with a very strong technology platform. As consumption becomes multi-screen, ZoOmTV.in is well positioned to serve content across devices.”

     

    Zoom TV CEO Avinash Kaul said, “We have been, and continue to be, very serious about the digital presence of zoOm and that’s what’s made zoOm. The Worlds No. 1 Bollywood Destination”. We are revolutionising the way we cover and distribute Bollywood content across platforms in relevant ways that inform and entertain our users at all times.”

     

  • Times Internet develops mobile apps for Gaana.com

    Times Internet develops mobile apps for Gaana.com

    MUMBAI: Time Internet (TIL) has developed mobile applications for its flagship online music portal, Gaana.com.

    Simultaneously, Gaana.com is now available as an app for Android, iOS, Blackberry and J2ME devices, giving consumers access to millions of songs on their mobile phone.

    TIL CEO Satyan Gajwani said “We are so proud of the Gaana experience on mobile. Indian consumers love their music, and we‘ve built a product that matches their expectations for excellence across every screen that matters to them. Gaana on mobile is feature-rich and intuitive to use, and we intend to use this as a base to build even more functionality and offerings for our users, across all platforms.”

    According to the company, Gaana‘s mobile apps have been built to provide a full-service music experience, creating more depth than any offering available today. Some of its features include: access to over 1 million songs, including Bollywood, Hollywood, Tamil, Telegu, and regional music, Social listening: see what one‘s friends are listening to and My zone: an ability to see history, favorite songs, playlists, albums and artists across computer or mobile phone.

  • Times Internet in strategic tie-up with Gawker Media

    Times Internet in strategic tie-up with Gawker Media

    MUMBAI: Times Internet (TIL) has entered into a strategic partnership with Gawker Media which will allow it to manage and drive local Indian destinations for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com, Gawker Media‘s leading technology sites.

    As part of the collaboration, Times Internet will have exclusive rights to the brand, monetization, content, syndication and sub-licensing of Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com within India. TIL intends to use The Times Group‘s multimedia resources to help develop the brand locally.

    Gawker, a site focused on gadgets and tech culture, is America‘s largest independently owned and operated online media company that has eight websites with over 40 million UV‘s worldwide.

    Lifehacker.com is an 8-year-old popular weblog with thousands of posts related to technology, personal productivity, software, tips, and technology lifestyle. The two sites already have a wide user base and are getting good traction in the country.

    Discussing the partnership with Gawker, TIL CEO Satyan Gajwani said, "Gizmodo and Lifehacker have been two of my favorite sites for a long time, so it‘s exciting to be their partner in India. They have fantastic, relevant content for a younger generation that‘s increasingly interested in technology. We are partnering with one of the world‘s strongest digital media companies, and we can‘t wait to increase their prominence in India."

    Gawker Media COO Gaby Darbyshire said, "With an international presence in eight countries outside the USA, India has long been a natural next step for our global expansion, and TIL is a natural fit for Gizmodo and Lifehacker. We are very excited to be partnering with them to bring our technology content to India and look forward to seeing the brands develop for this new audience."

  • Times Internet acquires MensXP

    Times Internet acquires MensXP

    MUMBAI: Times Internet has announced the acquisition of mens‘ lifestyle portal MensXP.

    Launched by Angad Bhatia and his team three years ago, MensXP has built a site which people have visited to learn about things that matter to them.

    The company has also worked with advertisers like Burberry, LG and Samsung to help them reach the economically rising, urban Indian male looking for a cosmopolitan lifestyle, the company statement read.

    According to Times Internet, their goal is to make this content even better and expose it to a bigger audience. "MensXP already has a loyal following, and our goal is to let them keep doing what they‘re doing to reach larger audiences," it said.

    Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said, "This is really exciting for us because not only are we bringing in a strong platform, but we are bringing onboard an awesome, entreprenurial team that has a huge vision for their business. Times Internet is focused on bringing on great entrepreneurs that can take their businesses to the next level with our support."

    "We are extremely excited to work with TIL, especially at a phase that is witnessing the organisation undergo a paradigm shift in the way it does business. The acquisition will help MensXP further its vision to be the defacto lifestyle platform for Indian consumers. I am happy that Satyan believes in our vision and together we will aim build something great," MensXP.com founder and business head Angad Bhatia said.

  • Times Internet to shut its email service by 18 February

    Times Internet to shut its email service by 18 February

    MUMBAI: Times Internet, the new media business arm of Times Group, has decided to close down its email service on Indiatimes.com effective 18 February 2013 due to unviability of the business.

    The company said it has stopped accepting new users from 19 November.

    The meteoric rise of Gmail has prompted Indiatimes.com to do a rethink on its email service. Gmail has lion‘s share of email traffic in India beating even traditional service providers like Yahoo and Hotmail.

    "The Indiatimes.com Email Service will be discontinued and shall be permanently shut down with effect from 18th February, 2013 at 12 PM (Indian Standard Time).

    ndiatimes.com Email Service will stop accepting new users from 19th November, 2012," the company informed its existing users.

    "You will no longer be able to send or receive mails or access your account for the purpose of reading mail and/or transfer any data (i.e. emails, tasks, documents, folders, appointments, and/or contacts) currently saved in your account post 18th February, 2013 – 12 PM (Indian Standard Time)," it added.

    Indiatimes.com advised all email users to download emails/contacts/data from their Indiatimes mailbox via IMAP. It also said that users can continue to log in to all Times Internet Limited network sites using Indiatimes.com email address.

  • Times Internet ropes in sponsors for IPL 5.0

    Times Internet ropes in sponsors for IPL 5.0

    NEW DELHI: Times Group‘s digital arm Times Internet, which has the new media rights for IPL till 2014, has has roped in Coca-Cola, Samsung and Maruti as premium sponsors while Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hero Honda, Citi Bank, E Bay, and Karbonn Mobiles and Hindustan Unilever have come on board as associate sponsors.

    According to Times Internet CEO Rishi Khiani while premium sponsors have paid between Rs 35 to Rs 50 million, the associate sponsors have forked out between Rs 15 to Rs 30 million.

    Times Internet has also tied up with All India Radio to get audio commentary for the IPL matches. AIR will sell the ad spots. The website has offered to share revenues equally with the government‘s radio channel in the tie-up, the details of which would be worked out by before IPL begins.

    Times Internet has designed a multi-faceted interactive site on Indiatimes.com for the upcoming IPL season.

    A number of new features has been introduced this year, including active scorecards, high-definition streaming of IPL matches, DVR features (to rewind during a match), and video-on-demand facility.

    The company has also tied up with Google to provide match streaming on YouTube besides tying in IPL teams as digital partner.

    It will have high-definition streaming of the matches, which will adapt to slow data speeds and bandwidth availability and offer buffer-free viewing. It has also created applications for Android, iPhone and iPad.

    The new live streaming feature will allow fans to go back on the time-line and watch any part of the match that they may have missed. The new video-on-demand feature has match highlights such as fours, sixes and face-offs between players.