ITV

Tag: Times of India Group

  • Navbharat Times pushes for gender-inclusive Hindi with new campaign

    Navbharat Times pushes for gender-inclusive Hindi with new campaign

    MUMBAI: On International Women’s Day, Navbharat Times, in collaboration with FCB Ulka, unveiled a pioneering initiative, ‘Barabari Ki Bhasha’,aimed at making the Hindi language more inclusive and gender-equal.

    For centuries, Hindi has been a gendered language, often lacking female-specific terms for professions and achievements, particularly in male-dominated fields such as STEM, politics, sports, and entrepreneurship. This campaign seeks to address this gap by introducing new, gender-neutral or female-centric words, ensuring language no longer limits aspirations.

    Research indicates that language shapes society by influencing participation in various fields. The absence of feminine equivalents for certain professions often discourages female involvement, reinforcing gender disparities. By introducing these new words, the initiative hopes to empower young girls, providing them with the language to dream, aspire, and succeed.

    The Times of India Group president & chief brand officer Partha Sinha stated, “The first step in understanding a culture is through its language. With a gendered language, some inclusiveness is always left out. ‘Barabari Ki Bhasha’ aims to reflect the true desires and aspirations of society, marking a significant cultural shift.”

    FCB Ulka chief creative officer Hemant Shringy added, “‘Barabari Ki Bhasha’ is more than a campaign; it’s a movement. Language shapes how we think, and by introducing these new words, we take a meaningful step toward true equality. Every girl deserves to see herself represented in the words we use daily.”

    Initially launched in print, the campaign will expand to digital platforms and other media to maximise its impact.
     

  • Md Shahbaz Khan joins The Economic Times as director & business strategy

    Md Shahbaz Khan joins The Economic Times as director & business strategy

    MUMBAI: Md Shahbaz Khan has been appointed as the director, business strategy & special initiatives, business verticals at The Economic Times. Expressing gratitude for his journey so far, he acknowledged the mentors, colleagues, and partners who have supported him.

    Excited for this new chapter, Khan looks forward to driving impactful initiatives, fostering innovation, and contributing to meaningful growth.

    With a strong background in media, he has held pivotal roles at CNBC-TV18, Times of India Group, Hindustan Times, and Sap Partner, among others.

  • Absence of TRPs has not impacted legacy media brands much: M K Anand

    Absence of TRPs has not impacted legacy media brands much: M K Anand

    Mumbai: Times Network did not follow the playbook when they launched the Hindi news channel Times Now Navbharat HD in August. The Hindi news genre is saturated with many channels but Times Network entered the HD space where the only incumbent was Aaj Tak HD, said Times Network MD and CEO M K Anand.

    “When we launched our channel in the HD news space, the only other channel was Aaj Tak HD which is a great comparison set to have,” said MK Anand at an event on Tuesday. “The opportunity to come top-down in the Hindi news category helped us to focus on the brand first and then go to the mass audience.”

    The broadcaster is planning to launch Times Now Navbharat SD channel on 1 January 2022 four months after the launch of the HD channel. The launch coincides with the upcoming UP Assembly elections 2022. About two months of additional revenue is generated by news broadcasters during an election year.

    “The cost of marketing and distribution is much cheaper during the elections and will help our SD channel achieve mass reach in a short period,” said Anand.

    Elaborating on the performance of the newly launched Times Now Navbharat HD, he said, “The channel has garnered 100+ million video views per month on its digital content. Our ad volumes are already at 55-60 per cent of Aaj Tak HD while maintaining the same ad rates. Maintaining the same ad rates has been very limiting for the ad sales team but they have still been able to reach such high ad volumes which is remarkable.”

    The network also launched Hindi business news channel ET Now Swadesh in August. While there have been no business news channel launches in several years in the language space, Anand stated that there was a huge gap for such content in the Hindi-speaking market.

    “After demonetisation and interest rates coming down, people began participating in mutual funds and financial markets. This has become a necessity if they want to beat inflation. Foreign institutional investors, sophisticated retail investors, and corporates are taking advantage of the great growth that the Indian stock market is seeing currently. But ordinary Indians are not. That’s why we launched ET Now Swadesh with the proposition ‘India is rising, come rise with us,” he said.

    Times Network MD and CEO also talked about how 60-70 per cent of the year’s revenue is coming from pre-booking anchor sponsors. “If we pushed our sales team for higher revenues then there is no chance of maintaining our ad rates and that would destroy the brand and the category competitors. Our rates are in proportion to where we stand compared to our competitors” he added.

    Anand observed that the absence of TRPs for the news genre has not affected legacy media brands as much as news channels without strong brand recognition. “This genre is bought on the basis of effective rate (ER) and not cost-per-rating-point (CPRP). The absence of ratings hurts broadcasters as they are not able to design their product, FPC, etc in the absence of data as to what is working and how they are performing vis-à-vis others in the genre.”

    The Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India had suspended the Television Ratings Points (TRPs) for the news genre in October last year.

    The network is planning to distribute Times Now Navbharat on the free DTH platform DD Free Dish as and when MPEG slots become available. “We will bid for the MPEG slots if they become available,” noted Anand.  

    “At the Times group, we are obsessed with brand development. As you can see from the array of iconic brands that we have created over the years such as TOI, ET, TN, Femina, Filmfare, etc,” said Anand. “In our checklist of people, content, distribution, marketing and sales, we have been ultra-focussed on the brand right from day one.”

  • Sandeep Dahiya moves on from Times Group

    Sandeep Dahiya moves on from Times Group

    Mumbai: Times Lifestyle Enterprise CEO and Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd (Times Group) director of brand extension Sandeep Dahiya has decided to move on from the organisation. According to a statement, he will continue to be with the group till mid-November, for a smooth transition.

    Dahiya spent eight years at the media conglomerate, spearheading the launch of its legacy brands into newer consumer categories. 

    “It’s been a great journey over the last eight years – of learning, leading, and growing. Working closely with Vineet Jain has been a privilege, and have much to thank him for my growth and learning here,” Dahiya said, confirming the development.

    At Times Lifestyle Enterprise, Dahiya led the Times Group’s foray in the beauty space, with the launch of Femina Flaunt Studio Salon – a company-owned, company-operated format, in Mumbai.

    “With so much happening in the fashion and beauty space – new consumer awareness, newer platforms, and exciting business-building frameworks, it’s time for me to explore newer challenging avenues,” he further said.

    With over 25 years of experience, Dahiya joined the Times Group from Viacom18, where he spent eight years, heading its consumer products business – creating a scalable & sustainable business model in new categories for brands and IPs of MTV, Nickelodeon, Vh1, and Colors.

  • VICE to launch digital service with ToI Group 1Q 2017

    VICE to launch digital service with ToI Group 1Q 2017

    MACAO: VICE Media, the Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company, will be launching its digital services in India, as part of a slew of other product offerings, in association with Times of India Group in the first quarter of 2017, while actively exploring the option of starting its pay TV service under Viceland brand sometime in the near future.

    “”We are working towards a launch of our digital offerings in Q1 of 2017 in India,” VICE Media Co-President James Schwab told indiantelevision in an exclusive interview.

    Schwab, who also went off to visit India to confabulate with his India partners this week, was in Macao to deliver a keynote at the CASBAA Convention 2016, which also saw a galaxy of other media industry stalwarts, including GroupM global boss Irwin Gotlieb; Bennett Pozil, Head of Corporate Banking & EVP, East West Bank; Chad Gutstein, CEO, Machinima; Avigail Gutman, Programme Director, Operational Security, Cisco; Nickhil Jakatdar, CEO & Founder, Vuclip; Basil Chua, CEO, AsiaMX; Dave Downey, CEO, INVIDI; Zaid Mohseni, COO, MOBY Group, apart from heads of Indian platform operators like Jagdish Kumar of Hathway and Tony D’Silva of the Hinduja Group.

    Schwab, who announced VICE’s launch in Indonesia at the CASBAA Convention, said that India was an exciting market in Asia and that he’s looking at bringing the whole suite of company products in India, of course in association with the Indian partner.

    Originally based in Montreal, Canada, VICE re-located to New York City in 2001. In 2014, VICE Media got injected by US$200 million investment (10 per cent equity) by American broadcasting company A&E Networks, a joint venture of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation. Disney made a second 10 per cent (US$200 million) investment in 2015. Known for some edgy content, VICE also has Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox as an investor.

    VICE Media, according to Wikipedia, after starting with a magazine expanded primarily into youth and young adult-focused digital media, including online content verticals and related web series. The news division VICE News, a film production studio, and a record label are among other properties. In February 2016, VICE launched a cable television network in Canada and the United States, Viceland, which is a millennial-targeted network that draws upon the resources of the lifestyle-oriented verticals of the company.

    Though India has foreign investment restriction in news ventures of a non-majority stake of 49 per cent, VICE Media feels that it would not hamper their news offerings in association with the Times of India Group. “VICE creates local content in various territories around the world, produced by local hosts, editors, and shooters. VICE looks at each market on an individual basis and makes sure that the content that airs in specific territories is content that young people in those territories care about,” Schwab said.

    The Indian market that is witnessing a slew of new product offerings to consumers on traditional and new technology platforms, including OTT, for VICE offers opportunities that could be monetised and exploited. And, as part of the strategy, the launch of pay TV service Viceland with local and foreign content too is in the pipeline.

    “As we would like to be on all platforms, including digital, at some point of time we would look at launching our pay TV service too in India. But the launch won’t be soon as we still are working on distribution strategies. We’d launch when we feel the product is right (for the Indian market). But we would like even Indian consumers to experience all our products,” Schwab said.

    While speaking at the CASBAA Convention, he admitted that TV was a “powerful tool to reach audience(s) and revenue from subscription TV preserved the “quality of good content.”

    With estimated revenues of US$ 915 million in 2015 and total assets worth about US$ 2.5 billion as on 2014, VICE Media is betting big on Asia-Pacific, including India. Partnership with the TOI Group in the form of two joint ventures is part of that strategy, which will witness creation of new local production studios with leading journalists and filmmakers hired for 24-hour local news and lifestyle programming.

    “We would like to bring all our capabilities to Asia. However, before we enter a market, we think through the local market economics as we would like our businesses to be self- sustaining. Indonesia and India are great examples (of such strategies) as the population of young people is huge as is growth in mobile usage,” Schwab explained.

    VICE also feels that the Indian market is economically viable for the company’s creative agency service despite presence of strong and existing global and domestic players. As VICE’s creative agency, Virtue, works closely with both brands and other media agencies to deliver for clients, Schwab said, “We believe there is interest (in India)…some of our global customers have evinced interest.

  • VICE to launch digital service with ToI Group 1Q 2017

    VICE to launch digital service with ToI Group 1Q 2017

    MACAO: VICE Media, the Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company, will be launching its digital services in India, as part of a slew of other product offerings, in association with Times of India Group in the first quarter of 2017, while actively exploring the option of starting its pay TV service under Viceland brand sometime in the near future.

    “”We are working towards a launch of our digital offerings in Q1 of 2017 in India,” VICE Media Co-President James Schwab told indiantelevision in an exclusive interview.

    Schwab, who also went off to visit India to confabulate with his India partners this week, was in Macao to deliver a keynote at the CASBAA Convention 2016, which also saw a galaxy of other media industry stalwarts, including GroupM global boss Irwin Gotlieb; Bennett Pozil, Head of Corporate Banking & EVP, East West Bank; Chad Gutstein, CEO, Machinima; Avigail Gutman, Programme Director, Operational Security, Cisco; Nickhil Jakatdar, CEO & Founder, Vuclip; Basil Chua, CEO, AsiaMX; Dave Downey, CEO, INVIDI; Zaid Mohseni, COO, MOBY Group, apart from heads of Indian platform operators like Jagdish Kumar of Hathway and Tony D’Silva of the Hinduja Group.

    Schwab, who announced VICE’s launch in Indonesia at the CASBAA Convention, said that India was an exciting market in Asia and that he’s looking at bringing the whole suite of company products in India, of course in association with the Indian partner.

    Originally based in Montreal, Canada, VICE re-located to New York City in 2001. In 2014, VICE Media got injected by US$200 million investment (10 per cent equity) by American broadcasting company A&E Networks, a joint venture of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation. Disney made a second 10 per cent (US$200 million) investment in 2015. Known for some edgy content, VICE also has Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox as an investor.

    VICE Media, according to Wikipedia, after starting with a magazine expanded primarily into youth and young adult-focused digital media, including online content verticals and related web series. The news division VICE News, a film production studio, and a record label are among other properties. In February 2016, VICE launched a cable television network in Canada and the United States, Viceland, which is a millennial-targeted network that draws upon the resources of the lifestyle-oriented verticals of the company.

    Though India has foreign investment restriction in news ventures of a non-majority stake of 49 per cent, VICE Media feels that it would not hamper their news offerings in association with the Times of India Group. “VICE creates local content in various territories around the world, produced by local hosts, editors, and shooters. VICE looks at each market on an individual basis and makes sure that the content that airs in specific territories is content that young people in those territories care about,” Schwab said.

    The Indian market that is witnessing a slew of new product offerings to consumers on traditional and new technology platforms, including OTT, for VICE offers opportunities that could be monetised and exploited. And, as part of the strategy, the launch of pay TV service Viceland with local and foreign content too is in the pipeline.

    “As we would like to be on all platforms, including digital, at some point of time we would look at launching our pay TV service too in India. But the launch won’t be soon as we still are working on distribution strategies. We’d launch when we feel the product is right (for the Indian market). But we would like even Indian consumers to experience all our products,” Schwab said.

    While speaking at the CASBAA Convention, he admitted that TV was a “powerful tool to reach audience(s) and revenue from subscription TV preserved the “quality of good content.”

    With estimated revenues of US$ 915 million in 2015 and total assets worth about US$ 2.5 billion as on 2014, VICE Media is betting big on Asia-Pacific, including India. Partnership with the TOI Group in the form of two joint ventures is part of that strategy, which will witness creation of new local production studios with leading journalists and filmmakers hired for 24-hour local news and lifestyle programming.

    “We would like to bring all our capabilities to Asia. However, before we enter a market, we think through the local market economics as we would like our businesses to be self- sustaining. Indonesia and India are great examples (of such strategies) as the population of young people is huge as is growth in mobile usage,” Schwab explained.

    VICE also feels that the Indian market is economically viable for the company’s creative agency service despite presence of strong and existing global and domestic players. As VICE’s creative agency, Virtue, works closely with both brands and other media agencies to deliver for clients, Schwab said, “We believe there is interest (in India)…some of our global customers have evinced interest.

  • The Huffington Post Partners with The Times of India Group to Launch “Huffington Post India”

    The Huffington Post Partners with The Times of India Group to Launch “Huffington Post India”

    MUMBAI: The Huffington Post Media Group and The Times of India Group, India’s largest media conglomerate, today announced their partnership to launch an Indian edition of The Huffington Post, a leading global source of breaking news, opinion, entertainment, and community.
     

    The English-language website will combine The Huffington Post’s award-winning news and blogging platform with the local expertise and reach of The Times of India Group. Targeting India’s rapidly expanding Internet user base, which is expected to reach 370 million by 2015, HuffPost India will cover everything from politics, media and entertainment to technology, religion and lifestyle, and open up The Huffington Post’s blogging platform to anyone in the country with a story to tell.

     

    The announcement was jointly made by Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, and Satyan Gajwani, CEO of Times Internet (TIL), the digital arm of The Times of India.
     

    “I’m delighted to launch HuffPost India, which will be our 12th edition since we began our international expansion three years ago,” said Huffington. “In addition to being a hub for global news and a country that embodies much of the ancient wisdom the world desperately needs now, India has deep personal significance to me. When I was 17, I studied comparative religion at Visva-Bharati University, outside of Calcutta, and traveled across India, falling in love with the country — a love affair that has continued to this day. So I’m extremely grateful for the chance to bring HuffPost to India to tell the stories that matter most — and just as important, to help people throughout India tell their stories themselves, in words, in pictures and in video.”
     

    “The Huffington Post is the first real digital-first news success story globally, and their impact is seen across the world,” said Gajwani. “They’ve coupled a best-in-class technology platform with a fresh way of approaching the world’s issues today. We’ve demonstrated our ability to meaningfully grow international media brands, such as Business Insider, Gizmodo, and more. We are excited to combine HuffPost’s world-class product with our local reach with consumers and advertisers to tailor-make a great new destination for Indian consumers.”
     

    “As the world’s largest democracy, and with a middle class of more than 250 million people, India is a critical destination for any global media company,” said Huffington Post Media Group CEO Jimmy Maymann. “And with Indian household consumption predicted to continue to grow nearly 20% per year, this partnership gives us an ideal entry into what is expected to become the world’s fifth-largest consumer market within the next ten years.”

     

    The Huffington Post and The Times of India Group will establish an editorial team based in New Delhi. The site is slated to launch later this year

  • Times Internet partners with Crain Communications to launch Ad Age India

    Times Internet partners with Crain Communications to launch Ad Age India

    MUMBAI: Times Internet (TIL), a premiere digital product company and the digital arm of India’s largest media conglomerate, The Times of India Group has inked a partnership with Advertising Age to launch Advertising Age (Ad Age) India. Ad Age is the leading source of news, intelligence and conversation for the global marketing and media community. Ad Age India will combine the authoritative status of this marquee publication with the rapidly growing and evolving Indian media and marketing ecosystem to create a vibrant platform for the industry.  In addition to a comprehensive coverage of the strategic topics, insights, news, trends and ideas across the region; Ad Age India will work with thought leaders across the industry to deliver value to its readers.  

     

    The alliance is a part of the Times Local Partners (TLP), a business unit of TIL that partners with global digital companies across publishing, product and platform to help them launch / grow in India, APAC & ME. Ad Age joins the growing TLP portfolio, which has already rolled out the Indian editions of Askmen, Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Techradar, Remodelista,  ReadWrite,  Business Insider & IGN.

     

    Talking about the partnership,Times Local Partners business head Puneet Singhvi said “We are very excited about bringing Ad Age to India. Ad Age has achieved an iconic status amongst the media and marketing community globally and we look forward creating a strong platform for the fraternity through Ad Age India. We are confident that Ad Age India will soon become a marketing communication brand to trust and the one that the industry follows. We also plan to roll out the regional versions of the highly revered Ad Age Lists soon. ”

     

    “India has emerged as one of the world’ fastest-growing ad markets with a vibrant and innovative community of advertising, media, and marketing leaders,” said Allison Arden, Vice President and Publisher of Ad Age. “Ad Age is thrilled to join with Times Internet in bringing our distinctive global news, intelligence, and insight to Indian readers.” 

     

    TLP will be putting together a strong editorial and insights team to publish local industry news, trends & analysis alongside the global coverage of strategic topics for marketers and media. TLP will also leverage the media reach that the Times Group has across platforms to grow Ad Age India strongly. 

  • 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.