ITV

Tag: Tom Online

  • Microsoft to Skype in China later this month

    Microsoft to Skype in China later this month

    NEW DELHI: Microsoft, which had officially acquired Skype in 2011, is taking over Skype’s operations in China from 24 November.

    Skype China is still being run by TOM Online – part of Tom Group – a mobile internet company in the country. Skype describes TOM as a majority joint venture partner that helps to provide access to Skype for Chinese customers, “using a modified version that follows Chinese regulations, called TOM-Skype.”

     

    TOM-Skype’s website says that TOM will be handing over Skype to Microsoft on November 24.

     

    In the announcement, it was also revealed that Skype has currently surpassed 100 million users in China.

     

    When Skype turned 10 earlier this year, it announced that the service has helped connect more than 300 million people around the world, letting them talk for more than 1.4 trillion minutes (2.6 million years of conversations). It is not clear if the 300 million figure refers to registered users, but China’s users stand at one-third of the number of people Skype has ever connected.

    There is growing usage of messaging apps in China including WeChat, China Telecom’s Yixin and Alibaba’s Laiwang. 

  • Vishal Gondal quits Disney UTV Digital; Sameer Ganapathy to replace

    Vishal Gondal quits Disney UTV Digital; Sameer Ganapathy to replace

    MUMBAI: UTV Disney managing director – digital Vishal Gondal has decided it is time he should be gone from India‘s premier gaming company. Gondal took over as digital MD of the company in August 2012, almost a year after Indiagames.com a company he founded was acquired by Disney in 2011, following the buyout of media company UTV by Disney. He is serving his notice period and his last working day will be 30 June.

    The Digital team of Disney UTV combines all mobile, video, audio, broadband, ITV, games and virtual world‘s initiatives. All digital content across all brands namely Disney, Marvel, UTV, Indiagames, bindass including original content for web, mobile and games will be developed and managed by this team.

    The gaming pioneer set up Indiagames when he was just 13 in 1999 and ran it for years before a majority stake in it was acquired by Chinese gaming company Tom Online. Tom Online later sold its holdings in Indiagames to UTV. Gondal was appointed as MD of Disney UTV Digital in August 2012 after The Walt Disney Company India restructured its digital assets under a new division, Disney UTV Digital. He took over the role to drive better growth in games, video and audio services for mobile, online and interactive TV.

    Gondal is believed to be quitting the company to concentrate on his investments in startups and also to pursue entrepreneurship. He has been part of the Nokia Advisory Council for Games and actively advices Nokia on wireless and gaming technologies.

    Disney UTV executive director movie channels and channel distribution Sameer Ganapathy will now take on the business function for the digital arm of Disney UTV.

    Disney UTV MD Ronnie Screwvala said, “Vishal has been a great founder and CEO for Indiagames. As we consolidate the digital, mobile and web play for Disney UTV in India, we plan to build on our creative prowess and transform the digital business to be a direct to consumer, yet working closely with all our partners, telecom operators, OEM‘s and others. This is similar to our approach in our other verticals of movies, broadcasting and consumer products. Sameer Ganapathy brings an astute business sense and high resourcefulness to this position, which is key to meet the ever growing trajectory of the digital business in India.”

    “Indiagames had small beginnings but a big dream. I cannot help but look back with a tremendous sense of fulfillment and pride, upon the long, eventful and exciting journey. I am really proud of what the team has accomplished. Excellent support from our early investors Infinity, IL&FS, TOM Online, Adobe, Cisco and UTV and the subsequent acquisition by Walt Disney provided us the opportunity to work towards our vision of making gaming big in India. Over the last 18 months, we have spent time integrating the teams and set a platform for continued growth. Consequently, I‘ve decided to move on to pursue my dreams and passion of being an entrepreneur,” said Gondal.

  • Tom Online and Titan Sports join forces on FIFA World Cup coverage

    Tom Online and Titan Sports join forces on FIFA World Cup coverage

    MUMBAI: China’s wireless internet company Tom Online Inc. has entered into an exclusive cooperation with sports newspaper Titan Sports Weekly, to provide joint coverage on this year’s FIFA World Cup. It also includes a range of other long-term initiatives, including the launch of a new sports channel, http://titan.tom.com , on its portal http://www.tom.com.

    In line with Tom Online’s strategy to form unique alliances with key media organisations to broaden its reach to Chinese consumers and share revenue with partners, the strategic cooperation with Titan Sports includes the integration of sports content, wireless Internet technologies and marketing resources to deliver a more compelling sports experience to Chinese consumers.

    Tom Online CEO and executive director Wang Lei Lei said, “I believe that this cooperation between Titan Sports and Tom Online’s forms an integral part of our long-term strategy to provide unparalleled sports content and applications to Chinese consumers, which can be delivered through both mobile devices and the PC, helping to differentiate our services from our competitors and fulfill the growing needs of sports fans in China.”

    Titan Sports president Qu Youyuan said, “I’m very excited about this closer relationship between the two companies. Titan Sports and Tom Online have a successful history of working together on major events such as the Athens Olympic Games and UEFA soccer matches. As an official media organisation in China for this year’s soccer World Cup, Titan Sports is committed to providing soccer fans with the most in-depth, extensive and up-to-date reports on the field, particularly through its online coverage with Tom Online on titan.tom.com.”

    Titan Sports is China’s largest sports newspaper with a weekly circulation of over four million. As a part of the exclusive cooperation arrangement, Titan Sports will provide first hand stories, pictures and audio-visual material to Tom Online for online and wireless Internet users.

    In addition to the alliance with Titan Sports, Tom Online is also an exclusive wireless Internet services partner with CCTV5, which holds exclusive rights to broadcast World Cup matches in China.