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Tag: Times Internet

  • Times Internet acquires Willow TV International to live broadcast ICC World Twenty20 in the US

    Times Internet acquires Willow TV International to live broadcast ICC World Twenty20 in the US

    MUMBAI: Times Internet, the digital arm of The Times of India Group, has acquired Willow TV International. Expanding the ICC tournament’s reach beyond the traditional and expensive pay-per-view distribution method, Willow will provide an exclusive live US television broadcast and live stream of the ICC World Twenty20.

    This will be the first time an ICC tournament will be available on a US television broadcast channel.Willow TV is one of the leading cricket broadcasters in the US.

    Willow is the only channel that is dedicated to cricket in the US, with an aligned direct-to-consumer digital service.

    Times Internet director Satyan Gajwani says, “We are extremely pleased to welcome Willow to The Times Group. Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world, and has the potential to become a major sport in the US. We are excited to expand and strengthen our offerings for South Asians living in the US and to grow interest in cricket across the US, both with loyal fans and new consumers”.

    The channel and its associated TV Everywhere service is widely distributed by the largest satellite, cable, IPTV and OTT platforms in a variety of subscription packages, including sports packs and South Asian targeted packages. 

    On the other hand, Cricbuzz will exclusively deliver pre-match, in-match, and post-match highlights and coverage of the entire tournament to its US based digital audiences.

    “As a bootstrapped company, we launched the Willow cricket channel just over 5 years ago, and we are extremely proud of where it has reached. With the backing of The Times of India Group and its assets, I am confident that we can jointly build one of the premier sports businesses in the US”, adds Willow TV founder and CEO Vijay Srinivasan.

    For Times Internet, Willow is complementary with its recent acquisition of Cricbuzz, the world’s largest online cricket destination. During the ICC World Cup 2015, Cricbuzz claims to have 1 billion visits in a span of 40 days with 96 percent available on mobile.

    Between Willow, Cricbuzz, and Times of India’s digital assets, the group estimates to reach about 15 million Americans with an interest in cricket. Willow is the first international acquisition by Times Internet, and the first US acquisition for The Times of India Group.

    The channel is available on 7 of the top 10 pay television platforms in the US, and also plans many more launches currently in the pipeline.

  • Times Internet acquires digital video rights of ICC Events for US & Canada

    Times Internet acquires digital video rights of ICC Events for US & Canada

    MUMBAI: Times Internet owned Cricbuzz.com has become the exclusive licensee for digital video clip rights for United States and Canada for all ICC events for a period of four years. 

    The digital rights for all events scheduled to take place between 2016 and 2019, including the ICC World Twenty20 which begins in March in India will vest with Cricbuzz.com. 

    The four-year deal includes seven ICC events starting with the ICC World Twenty20 2016.

    The deal gives Times Internet exclusive rights to deliver a comprehensive video package that includes video clips of pre-match, in-match and post-match coverage.

    In the first agreement of this nature, the ICC is providing in-match video clips to digital licensees and Times Internet will have exclusive access to six minutes’ video clips from every hour of match coverage starting with the first ball and ending with the winning moment.

    As the exclusive video clips licensee for these two North American markets, Times Internet will also get access to key moments from all matches in the ICC archive.

    Times Internet Limited’s newly acquired digital clips rights in the United States and Canada will supplement Cricbuzz.com’s existing live coverage in the form of text, scorecard and infographics across its digital platforms.

    “North America has traditionally been our largest audience base outside of India and we are thrilled to be able to offer an enhanced experience of the ICC events to cricket fans across that region with near-live in-match clips. We are excited to partner with the ICC to grow the sport in the region through our coverage of the premier competitions in the sport of cricket,” said Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani.

    The other events included in the package are ICC Champions Trophy 2017, ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018, ICC Women’s World Twenty20 2018 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

  • Times Internet acquires digital video rights of ICC Events for US & Canada

    Times Internet acquires digital video rights of ICC Events for US & Canada

    MUMBAI: Times Internet owned Cricbuzz.com has become the exclusive licensee for digital video clip rights for United States and Canada for all ICC events for a period of four years. 

    The digital rights for all events scheduled to take place between 2016 and 2019, including the ICC World Twenty20 which begins in March in India will vest with Cricbuzz.com. 

    The four-year deal includes seven ICC events starting with the ICC World Twenty20 2016.

    The deal gives Times Internet exclusive rights to deliver a comprehensive video package that includes video clips of pre-match, in-match and post-match coverage.

    In the first agreement of this nature, the ICC is providing in-match video clips to digital licensees and Times Internet will have exclusive access to six minutes’ video clips from every hour of match coverage starting with the first ball and ending with the winning moment.

    As the exclusive video clips licensee for these two North American markets, Times Internet will also get access to key moments from all matches in the ICC archive.

    Times Internet Limited’s newly acquired digital clips rights in the United States and Canada will supplement Cricbuzz.com’s existing live coverage in the form of text, scorecard and infographics across its digital platforms.

    “North America has traditionally been our largest audience base outside of India and we are thrilled to be able to offer an enhanced experience of the ICC events to cricket fans across that region with near-live in-match clips. We are excited to partner with the ICC to grow the sport in the region through our coverage of the premier competitions in the sport of cricket,” said Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani.

    The other events included in the package are ICC Champions Trophy 2017, ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018, ICC Women’s World Twenty20 2018 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

  • Times Internet hires Gulshan Verma as chief revenue officer

    Times Internet hires Gulshan Verma as chief revenue officer

    MUMBAI: Times Internet has appointed Gulshan Verma as chief revenue officer (CRO).

     

    As CRO, Verma will be responsible for the strategic definition, direction, and management of the company’s cumulative revenue opportunities.

     

    Verma has worked in media and more specifically digital media companies across Europe, North America and Asia for the past decade.

     

    Before joining Times Internet, he worked with Outbrain, where he was responsible for managing the company’s business for India and South East Asia. Prior to that, he was CRO of Komli Media. He has also worked for companies such as Yahoo!, McKinsey & Co and IMG.

     

    Verma also holds two patents in search monetisation.

     

    Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said, “I’m excited to welcome Gulshan Verma as chief revenue officer, Times Internet. I’m optimistic that with his direction, we’ll see our revenues grow faster than ever before.”

     

    “I am looking forward to contributing and adding value to the team. Times Internet can be among top three ‘must buy’ digital players in India due to its combination of unique assets and scale,” added Verma.

  • Times Internet buys majority stake for $15 milion in Taskbucks

    Times Internet buys majority stake for $15 milion in Taskbucks

    MUMBAI: Indian digital products company Times Internet from the Times of India group has acquired a majority stake in Taskbucks – a mobile-only tasks marketplace. Taskbucks matches consumers with brands and enterprises on its platform. Companies offer tasks to consumers, who are rewarded for completing these micro tasks via the Taskbucks marketplace.

     

    Times Internet VP corporate development Miten Sampat says, “Taskbucks is reducing friction in the connection between consumers and companies, in a way that drives value for both. As hundreds of millions of Indians get connected with smartphones, Taskbucks is one of the few services that has an immediate and clear value proposition for the consumer. Led by a strong, experienced team, I’m confident Taskbucks will add value to millions of Indian consumers.”

     

    “We intend to use this funding to build out more ways for companies to leverage access to our 5 million strong and rapidly growing user base. We will soon be launching Taskbucks Pro, a premium version of Taskbucks, where users can perform real-world tasks for brands, to earn more. We’ll also be working closely with Times Internet to build our brand and drive growth of our mobile app,” added Taskbucks CEO Kumar Apurva.

     

    Taskbucks currently offers brands the option for app discovery, user retention, referral tasks, offer signups, and social content sharing, as promotions that they can offer consumers.

     

    Taskbucks is owned by DigiSmart Digital Media, a Gurgaon based company, founded in 2014 by Kumar Apurva. Kumar has over 15 years of new media and start up experience in the field of Internet and mobile space, playing a senior role at companies such as Info Edge, ValueFirst, Way2Online, and Times Internet.

  • 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.

  • CarDekho buys Zingwheels; Times Internet invests in Girnar

    CarDekho buys Zingwheels; Times Internet invests in Girnar

    MUMBAI: In a bid to consolidate its position in the auto portals space, Girnar Software, which owns CarDekho.com & Gaadi.com, has acquired Zigwheels.com. 

     

    Additionally, Times Internet has come on board as an investor in Girnar Software along with Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse, Tybourne, Ratan Tata and HDFC Bank.

     

    Zigwheels.com will operate independently within the Girnar Software umbrella.

     

    “Having been a part of India’s leading and most respected media group, Zigwheels.com comes with a very strong content pedigree. This strategic acquisition reinforces our commitment to further enrich our content to enable us to engage even more deeply with our consumers. This also takes our market leadership to the next level in the digital auto vertical across visitors, dealer base and revenues,” said Girnar Software CEO Amit Jain.

     

    “We are delighted to welcome Times as a new investor in our company and look forward to their support as we continue our journey and further consolidate our leadership in the online auto space,” added  Jain.

     

    “We see tremendous growth and value creation opportunities in the online auto industry in India and overseas.  Girnar Soft, as the leader in this space, is best positioned to take advantage of this opportunity. We are excited to be partnering with an exceptional management team which has built great value and we are confident will continue to blaze trails in the years to come,” added Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani.

     

    This is Girnar Software’s second acquisition. Last September, the company acquired the Nasper Group-owned Gaadi.com, to fortify its position in the digital used car segment. 

     

    The core business model of Girnar Software is earnings from lead generation for new and used cars, media sales on their portals, monetising the lifecycle of a car owner via CarBuddy app.

     

    The company is also expanding across SE Asia, Africa, Middle East and South America.

     

    The Rainmaker Group (TRMG) is the financial advisor to Girnar Software for the transaction.

  • LocoVida inks technology partnership with Times Internet

    LocoVida inks technology partnership with Times Internet

    MUMBAI: LocoVida, a boutique digital technology and advertising firm focused on online vernacular audiences, has partnered with Times Internet (TIL).

     

    As part of the partnership, TIL is licensing its Colombia Traffic Network (CTN) technology to LocoVida to power their advertising campaigns for brands wanting to reach the Tier II and III audiences.

     

    Already Powering Top 100 advertisers in India alone, Colombia Traffic Network (CTN) is one of the largest native network of premium audience in APAC.

     

    LocoVida founder and CEO Anil Kumar said, “We are very excited about this partnership as it offers us the most powerful and robust platform in the country. We chose CTN over others for its premium features and more so, as it is currently being used by TIL themselves and serves impressions across TIL properties. Using CTN, we can facilitate our clients to earn better ROI on their campaigns.”

     

    Times Internet vice president – adtech Swapnil Shrivastav added, “We are very excited to work with Locovida for their deep understanding of the vernacular ecosystem. We look forward to working with them to reach this large set of language publishers who promise to bring the next big set of internet audience to reach this large set of language publishers who promise to bring the next big set of internet audience.”

  • Times Internet’s Gaana.com looks to raise $150 million

    Times Internet’s Gaana.com looks to raise $150 million

    MUMBAI: After music streaming service Saavn raised over $100 million not so long ago, its competitor Times Internet’s Gaana.com is all set to make a similar move in order to expand its base and invade newer territories. If industry sources are to be believed, the venture is looking to raise over $150 million.

     

    While Gaana.com business head Pawan Agarwal confirmed to Indiantelevision.com on the fund raising, he declined to disclose the amount as well as the parties that were looking at investing into the venture.

     

    “India is a vast market and we have aspirations of expansion and to fuel that we plan to raise funds through venture capitals and other private investors,” said Agarwal.

     

    It may be recalled that recently, Saavn announced its move to enter into delivering video content to its subscribers. When queried as to whether Gaana was also looking to take the same route, Agarwal replied, “At this point of time, we do not have such plans. There is enough room in the music streaming market and we are concentrating on that.”

     

    So far, the Times Group has invested $25 million in Gaana.com, which has crossed 22 million downloads across Android and iOS as well as clocked 16 million monthly active users. On the other hand, Saavn, which was founded in 2007, has 14 million monthly active users, up from 11 million in the first quarter of 2015. What’s more, it expects to cross 20 million by the end of the year.

     

    The music streaming players in India are planning thick and fast so as not to leave the market wide open for rivals.

  • Goal partners with Times Internet to drive growth in India

    Goal partners with Times Internet to drive growth in India

    NEW DELHI: Digital sports content company Perform Group’s portal Goal has entered into a strategic partnership with Times Internet for delivering worldwide content. 

     

    Through this partnership, Goal is looking to continue its growth in India, leveraging Times Internet’s 100 million monthly unique users. Perform and Times Internet will collaborate in creating a unique blend of local and international football coverage.

     

    As part of the collaboration, Times Internet will have exclusive rights to the Goal brand in India and will drive local commercialization of Goal across both desktop and mobile. Perform will continue to leverage the Indian edition for key regional and global partnerships.

     

    A key enabler for the growth of the partnership will be Times Group’s ability to cross-promote the Goal brand, both across its wider sports vertical and offline publications. Both of these initiatives are set to position Goal as the pre-eminent football destination in India.

     

    Times Global Partners (TGP) business head Puneet Singhvi said, “The partnership with one of the largest global football sites gives us an ideal platform to build a strong destination for the rapidly growing base of soccer enthusiasts in India. We aim to use this partnership to evangelize the sport and make it more mainstream. We also look forward to working with Indian and International advertisers to roll out sponsorship and other advertising opportunities for this sought after and affluent audience segment.”

     

    Perform Group Media Asia-Pacific EVP James Peel added, “Goal’s partnership with Times Internet and the Times of India property is an incredibly exciting development in the growth of Goal, both locally in India and regionally. Not only does it reinforce Goal’s standing as the leading football property globally, but leverages a time of unprecedented interest in Football in India. Times of India is the leading digital publisher in India and, combining Goal’s unique IP and content with India’s largest online audience, we will deliver a range of unique and compelling digital advertising opportunities for brands and advertisers.”