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Tag: Times Internet

  • Rohit Raikwar roped in as GM -Paytm Ads

    Rohit Raikwar roped in as GM -Paytm Ads

    MUMBAI: Rohit Raikwar has been appointed as general manager at Paytm Ads. He moves from Disney+ Hotstar where he was agency lead.

    In his new role at Paytm, Raikwar will be based in Mumbai. He brings over 15 years of experience in digital advertising sales and revenue generation across leading media companies.

    Prior to Disney+ Hotstar, Raikwar held senior positions at Times Internet, ESPN, Network18 (Moneycontrol), Sify Technologies and India Today Group Digital. He is an MBA in marketing and advertising from IBS Bangalore.

     

  • Ashish Naik heads to FanCode as ad sales head

    Ashish Naik heads to FanCode as ad sales head

    MUMBAI: Selling airtime and digital can be fun – not just a job – for some. Like it has been for Ashish Naik. The latest move the seasoned sales gent has made is to hop over to sports entertainment app  Fancode as ad sales head. Naik brings extensive experience in online advertising, brand management, sales, and business development to his new position.

    In his announcement, Naik expressed enthusiasm about his new role, stating that he aims to build and scale advertising revenue for the platform. With over a decade of experience in the digital media industry, he has held key roles in several major organisations.

    Prior to joining FanCode, Naik served as vice president of sales at Pinkvilla for 18 months, where he contributed to business development and brand partnerships. Before that, he was senior business director at iCubesWire, managing client relations and digital media sales.

    Naik’s tenure at Olx Advertising as director of agency business spanned over three years, during which he fostered partnerships with agencies and expanded the company’s advertising capabilities. He also held the position of national sales head at Network18 and Times Internet, managing ad sales for key verticals and driving revenue growth.

    An alumnus of Mumbai Educational Trust (MET) and Somaiya College, Naik holds a master of business administration (MBA) and a bachelor of science (BS) degree.

    His extensive expertise in digital advertising, strategic partnerships, and revenue management is expected to contribute significantly to FanCode’s growth and success as it continues to engage sports enthusiasts across the country.

  • Matrimony.com CFO Sushanth Pai resigns ; Rajesh Sawhney becomes additional director

    Matrimony.com CFO Sushanth Pai resigns ; Rajesh Sawhney becomes additional director

    MUMBAI: Online matchmaking company Matrimony.com informed the Bombay stock exchange that its CFO has decided to go in for a separation from the firm. Sushant Pai who held the position for the past six years handed in his resignation to its chairman & managing director Murugavel Janakiraman on 8 January.  He informed him that he was pursuing opportunities outside Matrimony.com.

    The company also announced the appointment of media veteran Rajesh Sawhney as an additional independent director of the company. Sawhney is the founder, CEO of the GSF Accelerator, an investor in early-stage startups across the country. Besides, he sits on the boards of Ixigo, and IndiaMart Intermesh Ltd. He was the founder  and chief operating officer of Times Internet, and the founder president of the Anil Ambani owned Reliance Entertainment.

    Meanwhile, Matrimony.com is also scheduled to unleash its new television commercial campaign starring film star Anil Kapoor from sometime this month. Kapoor was roped in as the company’s brand ambassador in late 2024. Four films focusing on its BrahminMatrimony, RajputMatrimony, AgarwalMatrimony, and KayasthaMatrimony are to be released in January. 

  • PerformAce snares Tania Kundnani as product business head

    PerformAce snares Tania Kundnani as product business head

    MUMBAI: This postgraduate diploma holder in marketing and sales from Jaipuria Institute of Management has traveled a distance in her career over the past 19 years with her motto being “I like challenging myself.”

    Tania Kundnani today announced on Linkedin that she has been hired as business head of martech agency PerformAce based in Gurugram and founded in 2023 by Saurabh Gaur.

    She began her full time career at The Times of India, Bangalore as an assistant manager key accounts where she stayed for nearly three years. From there she shuttled between Mumbai and Delhi  first as a regional  manager west  ( focus)  and  senior manager  First Post  at web18 and Mobile18. Then she transferred to Quintillion Media as regional manager (west) for a year, then Scoop Whoop Media as regional manager -west &  south, again for a year.

    Following these postings, she had two-year long stints each with Times Internet (regional manager west &  south)  and Hotstar (digital sales), before staying for periods less than a year at Mad Influence (business manager west) and Aditya Birla Capital (digital manager).

    Her last four jobs were in Mumbai and then she shifted back to Gurugram to work with PublLve where she stayed for a year and four months, when she got the offer to join PerformAce earlier this month.  Her focus throughout has been on selling – either solutions or services or content a- client management and business development.

    At PerformAce – which has products like Audience X, NativeHub, Vision TV, Canvas and AdVance – she has been given the responsibility of developing the business for the last product. 
     

  • Digital dreams take flight: IDS 2025 is around the corner

    Digital dreams take flight: IDS 2025 is around the corner

    MUMBAI: Get ready to plug into the pulse of innovation!

    If you’re a tech enthusiast with an insatiable curiosity for all things digital, mark your calendars. The India Digital Summit (IDS), the crown jewel of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), is back for its 19th edition. Slated for 16-17 January 2025 at the vibrant hub of Aerocity, New Delhi, this year’s summit promises to be a game-changer. With the theme “Bharat’s Digital Path: Empowering Future Innovators”, the event is set to chart the course of India’s digital revolution.

    In collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and digital India, this powerhouse conference will bring together the brightest minds, cutting-edge tech, and transformative ideas to fuel the next wave of innovation.

    Get ready to witness the future unfold, one byte at a time!

    IDS is India’s largest and oldest digital ecosystem conference, bringing together policymakers, senior executives, academicians, and industry experts to discuss opportunities and challenges across digital sectors. This year’s summit will host over 300 sessions across 17 tracks, addressing domains such as advertising, artificial intelligence, eCommerce, education, and tech innovations for health, rural areas, and sports.

    The event will feature more than 15,000 delegates and include a 100-stall exhibition where over 50 leading digital brands will showcase cutting-edge innovations. Attendees can participate in diverse activities like workshops, masterclasses, hackathons, roundtables, and industry meet-ups, creating a unique blend of insights and networking opportunities.

    A special focus on startups will highlight startup street and startup pitching sessions. These initiatives will allow emerging entrepreneurs to present live demos, engage with investors, and seek funding and partnerships.

    IDS 2025 will also host the prestigious India Digital Awards (IDA), adjudicated by a panel of over 40 industry leaders. Now in its 15th edition, the awards will honour digital excellence across four categories and 47 subcategories. Additionally, the Digital Responsibility Awards (DRA) will return for its second year, recognising significant contributions to bridging India’s digital divides.

    Gold partners for IDS 2025 include PhonePe, Australia Trade and Investment Commission, IDA Ireland, Jagran New Media, and Exotel, while Route Mobile serves as the cloud communications partner. Silver partners include Shiprocket, Times Internet, and TV9 Network.

    Speaking about the summit’s significance, IAMAI underscored its role in driving India’s digital narrative while addressing persisting challenges in bridging the digital divide.

    For further details, visit: India Digital Summit

  • RunnTV engages Sumit Chauhan as sales director

    RunnTV engages Sumit Chauhan as sales director

    MUMBAI: Digital sales has been his playground for most of his career. And now Sumit Chauhan has jumped on board the Runn Media Labs train as sales director. The Manish Sinha-founded firm recently got into bed with South  African media conglomerate emedia and got an injection of funding from it.

    Runn Media Labs is setting up a Fast media platform Runn TV, targeting Indian viewers with thematic and personalised channels.

    Sumit has about 15 years’  experience behind him with stints at PayU Payments, Times Internet, Fork Media Network18 Media, Bliss, and finally with HT Media Labs as the regional lead – north and east where he was driving sales for the aggregation platform OTT Play and Slurp.com.

    “This is an incredible opportunity to spearhead the hashtag#Digital Ad-Sales business for Runn Media Labs and to ensure steady growth and coverage,” said Smit on Linkedin while announcing his appointment. 

  • Planetcast Media Services sets new standards in live sports broadcasting

    Planetcast Media Services sets new standards in live sports broadcasting

    Mumbai: Planetcast Media Services is proud to announce its faultless delivery of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, with zero downtime or glitches across 74 matches held in 13 stadiums. This exceptional performance continues Planetcast’s legacy of providing top-tier media services for major cricketing events, including the recent T20 World Cup (2 to 29 June), which ended with India defeating South Africa.

    Having established itself as a leader in seamless, high-quality broadcasting and streaming solutions, Planetcast has been a trusted technology partner for the IPL for the last 17 years and, in 2024, ensured that cricket fans enjoyed coverage of the T20 World Cup via Star Sports, Hotstar and Times Internet Group’s Cricbuzz. Planetcast’s advanced media services enabled the delivery of advertising of around $450 million for the IPL rightsholders (almost equally split between broadcast and digital platforms, and on par with the $465 million in 2023).

    For the 2024 IPL season, Planetcast provided the following services:

    1   Star Sports: Delivering domestic TV broadcast to 17 channels in 11 languages with services such as encoding, live transmission, playout, packaging, and delivery solutions.

    2   Viacom18: Supporting over-the-top (OTT) streaming on JioCinema.

    3   Times Internet: Facilitating international OTT streaming and playout for Cricbuzz.

    “Our long-standing partnership with IPL rightsholders underscores our capability to handle live events of significant scale that generate advertising revenues of $450 plus million,” said Planetcast Media Services’ CEO Sanjay Duda. “With the financial stakes so high, it’s critical that we remain dedicated to performing flawlessly and that we enhance match coverage across all the platforms we handle. We are also incredibly excited to have provided media services for the T20 World Cup, which concluded last weekend with India hoisting the trophy after the exciting win against South Africa.”

    The IPL’s exponential growth is evident in the record-breaking viewership figures year after year. Star Sports, Disney Star’s broadcasting channel for IPL 2024, drew a record-breaking audience of 546 million over the first 67 matches, according to figures from India’s Broadcast Audience Research Council. JioCinema’s streaming figures show a 38 per cent increase in viewers streaming IPL in 2024 over 2023, with 620 million viewers watching matches on the Viacom 18 service. IPL’s opening 2024 match alone attracted 111 million fans on JioCinema, marking a staggering 51 per cent increase from the year before.

    Building on its IPL success, Planetcast is also providing comprehensive services for the T20 World Cup, including:

    1   Star Sports: Managing the world feed via satellite, covering 17 channels in three languages, and providing encoding, live transmission, playout, packaging, and delivery solutions.

    2   Hotstar: Delivering disaster recovery services, channel content replacement, and vertical feed delivery.

    3   Times Internet Group (Cricbuzz): Implementing AI-based editing for instant highlight creation, near-real-time ad insertion, and graphic insertion and playout for the US market.

  • 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.”

  • Ex-Times Internet influencer lead’s Social Aviator ready for takeoff

    Ex-Times Internet influencer lead’s Social Aviator ready for takeoff

    Mumbai: Influencer marketing has bloomed into a key advertising strategy across the world. In India alone, the influencer marketing industry in India was valued at over Rs 12 billion in 2022. Most brands have a dedicated Influencer marketing budget set out. But do they know how to utilize it? This was the question that led Stefan Martyres to set up his new business venture – Social Aviator. After his impressive 8+ year stint at Times Internet, where he built the entire Influencer Marketing team from scratch and successfully delivered several innovative campaigns for leading brands, Martyres aims to take his journey in the world of advertising and marketing to the next level.

    With 13 years of experience in the field of Sports, Media & Entertainment, Martyres stepped into his entrepreneurial journey which is focused on offering strategic solutions that not only cater to the brand’s needs but also deliver influencer fits that align with the brand ethos, messaging and target audience.

    Martyres has spent over a decade honing his skills and making a profound impact on the way brands engage with their audiences. His exceptional career journey, which includes pivotal roles in key organizations like Times Internet, Star Sports, Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), amongst others.

    Talking about his new venture, Martyres said, “Advertising is all about connecting with people on a profound level and inspiring them. With Social Aviator, we are focusing on creating custom solutions that make the most of all the tools that are currently available for advertisers, and creating an optimized and tailored solution. My experience in Influencer Marketing has helped me get a core understanding of the power of the right form of content and this is the skill that we aim to capitalize on. The content-led solutions we offer will not just focus on promoting a brand but also building an emotional connection by giving it a personalized and organic touch.”

    Martyres’ new venture promises to push the boundaries of brand marketing by harnessing the power of influencers, optimising the use of AI in marketing, and pushing the boundaries of possibilities with brand collaborations. With a team of seasoned professionals and a client-centric approach, the company aims to deliver tailor-made advertising solutions that resonate with audiences, drive brand loyalty, and generate measurable results. In addition to this, Martyres is also focused on providing a plethora of additional services that make the delivery of brand solutions more streamlined. With the launch of a custom Social Aviator Studios, the brand aims to also push the boundaries of content creation by making the end to end solution seamless.

    Talking about the timing of this venture, Martyres said, “In the recent times, consumers have become more conscious and aware about not just the products they buy but the communication that these brands have online. It is therefore crucial to provide solutions that not only connect with the masses but can also convince them to build a longer association with the brand. Social Aviator aims to do just that. We also understand that streamlining brand advertising and providing timely and quality solutions is the key to making an impact. Our supporting services will help us achieve this in the most optimised way.” 

  • Shirish Agarwal joins Samsung India as director-marketing

    Shirish Agarwal joins Samsung India as director-marketing

    Mumbai: Shirish Agarwal has joined Samsung India as director-marketing. This is Agarwal’s second stint at Samsung. He was earlier deputy general manager marketing at Samsung India from 2009 to 2019.

    Agarwal stepped down as head – marketing communications & brand of Panasonic Life Solutions India at the end of August after a stint of four years. Prior to Panasonic, he was with Hewlett-Packard India and Times Internet.