MxMIndia

Tag: Rishi Khiani

  • The move is a planned one so that he can focus on his startup in the job-tech space

    Rishi Khiani turns focus on the job-tech space

    By A Correspondent

     

    Serial entrepreneur (and innovator) Rishi Khiani has announced that he will be stepping down from day-to-day operations at Ant Farm, a digital innovation company he founded in 2013. While he steps down from his operational role, Khiani will continue to be a promoter shareholder in Ant Farm and its downstream companies. The move is a planned one so that he can focus on his startup in the job-tech space.

     

    Rishi Khiani

    Said Khiani: “I founded Ant Farm back in 2013 when India had just seen a disruption in the startup space. The idea was to accelerate companies during their early-stage with an intensive hands-on approach backed by an experienced team in the given sector. It was a thrilling experience to build some great companies in the last eight years.”

     

    Commenting on his next steps, Khiani added: “Given the current scenario of the economy and the job market in our country, my next startup will focus on enabling the next billion jobs. Given that ambition and the opportunity it was important to clear my desk of all other responsibilities. Stay tuned for some exciting updates!”

     

     

  • Times Internet Limited has announced that Satyan Gajwani will be its CEO with immediate effect. Rishi Khiani, currently CEO, has stepped down to pursue opportunities outside of the company.

    Satyan Gajwani is Times Internet CEO as Rishi Khiani moves on

    From the MxM Infodesk

     

     Moving Out: Rishi Khiani Moving In: Satyan Gajwani

    Times Internet Limited has announced that Satyan Gajwani will be its CEO with immediate effect. Rishi Khiani, currently CEO, has stepped down to pursue opportunities outside of the company.

     

    In an internal circular, managing director Vineet Jain said: Under Rishi’s leadership, TIL has grown its userbase by 150% to 28M visitors, has seen significant growth in revenues and launched strategic properties such as Gaana.com and the new indiatimes.com.

     

    We thank Rishi for his contributions to the growth and  success of TIL and wish him all success in his entrepreneurial endeavors.” Said Mr Gajwani, “We’re sad to see Rishi move on, but excited for his future ahead. Indiatimes has made great progress under his leadership, and I’m excited to take it forward to new and bigger heights. These are big shoes to fill but with such a strong team in place, I’m sure we’ll succeed.”

     

    Mr Gajwani will report to Mr Vineet Jain. Mr Khiani will stay on till August 17 to help in the transition.

     

  • In comparison with 72 million page views in 2011, 113 million page views were generated during this year

    IPL 5 online traffic rises by 55%

    By A Correspondent

     

    Season 2012 of IPL concluded on May 27 with the Kolkata Knight Riders beating Chennai Super Kings to clinch the title for the first time in IPL history. The matches were streamed online by IPL official partner, Times Internet Limited (TIL) in partnership with YouTube. During this season, there was a 55 per cent increase in online viewership. In comparison with 72 million page views in 2011, 113 million page views were generated during this year’s action packed season.

     

    Showing a strong growth of over 87 per cent from the previous year, the page views for Indiastood at 80 million as compared to 43 million last year. The final match of the tournament generated 7.5 million page views, making it the highest single day viewership during the entire season.

    This year the IPL website offered a slew of features including interactive scorecards, high-definition streaming of IPL matches, DVR features (to rewind during a match), video-on-demand facility, and a ‘Battleground’ section.

     

    Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Limited, added, “Premium video content is a key focus area for us at Indiatimes and IPL is the key property as part of this vision. We promised IPL 2012 viewers a highly interactive and engaging cricket viewing experience. The record breaking online viewership numbers and advertiser traction across the season validate our delivery of this promise”.

     

    Gautam Anand, Director Content Partnership, Google APAC, said: “It’s heartening to see the continuous growth in the viewership of this exciting tournament online from across the globe. This season was extra special with lots of close matches and last ball finishes and we are really glad that we were able to bring all the action live to our audience on YouTube for the third consecutive year.”

     

  • Fans can now listen to the live, running commentary of the last three matches including the final IPL matches on AIR

    Times Internet partners AIR for live IPL commentary

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Internet Limited (TIL) and All India Radio (AIR) have joined hands to broadcast live commentary of IPL 2012 over AIR’s national channel and the FM Gold Network.

     

    The running commentary of the final matches of IPL 2012 will be broadcast alternately in Hindi and English on National Channel and FM Gold Network.

     

    Speaking on the deal, Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet, said: “By partnering with All India Radio, IPL 2012 will be able to reach out to a much larger base of cricket fans, who are spread all over the country ,especially beyond the metros.”

     

    “AIR has had a very long innings in promoting sports including cricket in the country. We are still going strong in that direction. We are now about to carry live commentary of the last three important and crucial matches including the final match of IPL. We hope that this would provide a new experience to our listeners,” said LD Mandloi, Director General, All India Radio.

     

     

  • New DelhiandBangalorelead the viewership with 14 per cent each, with Mumbai coming in a close second at 13 percent

    IPL 2012 first week online viewership registers a 56% increase

    By A Correspondent

     

    Solidifying last year’s stupendous growth during Indian Premier League (IPL), Times Internet Limited (TIL), in partnership with YouTube, is on an upward curve, yet again. In the first week of the tournament, including the opening ceremony, the IPL website has already recorded 13.7 million views, as against 8.8 million views last year. This represents a 56 per cent growth over last year.

     

    New DelhiandBangalorelead the viewership with 14 per cent each, with Mumbai coming in a close second at 13 percent. This leap reflects the growing trend of watching IPL matches online. This year, the IPL website offers a virtual battleground for fans to fight it out, which got 1.5 million engagements in the first week itself.

     

    The matches registered the maximum online views on 10th April for the matches between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, and between Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings. The day saw a total of 2.15 million views on the site, which included 0.7 million unique visitors.

     

    Almost 0.6 million viewers have enjoyed the match action on their mobiles over the last seven days on Apalya mobile TV platform across Airtel, Idea and Vodafone. This is double the traffic registered last year.

     

    Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Ltd said: “Last year, we delivered a superior viewing experience and garnered significant audiences. This year, our emphasis is on higher interactivity and our strong social focus has paid off right at the start, becoming a sign of things to come over the season.”

     

    Praveen Sharma, Head of Media Sales GoogleIndiasaid: “We’re really excited to see the continuous growth in online viewer ship of IPL. This is the third year of our association with live streaming of IPL and the viewership numbers clearly indicate the distributed media consumption pattern of the Indian consumers.”

     

  • The Times Internet CEO tells MxMIndia that indiatimes.com plans to take its IPL tieup to more interactive lengths in the 2012 season.

    IPL 5: Indiatimes to make experience better: Rishi Khiani

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTWC38mFJB0[/youtube]

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    The Indian Premier League (IPL) has signed up with indiatimes.com to be its official online broadcaster for IPL 2012. Addressing the media in New Delhi, Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Limited shared the enthralling online cricket experience indiatimes.com is set to roll out with its unique new features this year. This is indiatimes’ second IPL season as official online broadcaster.

     

    Mr Khiani shared the new product features that have been added to enrich the viewers’ experience this season. Citing the differentiating factors from last year, he said, “We have taken a lot of social features that we played with last year and the Facebook integration that we did last year and moved to a whole new level. We’ve got something called the IPL Battle Ground which is a far more community driven game-ified version of the Facebook chat that we had last year. So the whole community element is a big differentiator. We have taken the offline experience of watching cricket with friends and made it even more interactive. We have added far more features to the player this season. We have added cue points and a video scorecard below the player. Another functionality that has been built into the player this year is the DVR, Digital Video Recording, this allows you to go back in time to watch something you have missed.”

     

    Indiatimes observed a 79 percent increase in viewership in India last season, and is expecting a similar increase this season as well. Statistics suggest an equal split between the male and female viewership ratio online. To make this season bigger and better, certain innovations have been made to add to the wholesome IPL experience. The homepage is designed in a way that it has everything in and around IPL which makes it in a way, ‘destination IPL’, with all the touch points of IPL in one place. Other innovations include an interactive scorecard, DVR, a high definition video player and a Video on Demand (VOD) section. The VOD page will have a lot of editorial packaging in the form of celebrity moments in the match, fun moments in the match, packages of all Fours or all Sixes and so on. Some of the other content features that have been added this year are, latest tweets, Match key moments, Fun Facts, Player interviews, Pre-match shows and TOI RSS feeds.

     

    Addressing a concern on connectivity issues while viewing live feed online, Mr Khiani said, “The video player is built in with an adaptive streaming as per network availability. We have created a stream that would work for broadband connection but also work really well for people who have narrowband connections, so connectivity shouldn’t be an issue.”

     

    Mr Khiani also said that their idea is to create a 360 degree experience, a holistic experience which is something that TV cannot create. Indiatimes has partnered with All India Radio (AIR) for IPL commentary, so all cricket fans can tune into AIR to listen to commentary of IPL. The commentary will also be available on an IVR which will have the advantage of giving a recap of sorts every time one dials in.

     

    Mr Khiani stated that the total spends for this season would amount to around $6 million. Talking about the overall investment this year, Mr Khiani said, “We will probably spend less this year in marketing because last year it was just ten days before the tournament and we had to make sure that we got all eyeballs onto the site, but this year we know what works and what doesn’t work. We have a community base that’s already been built up last year that we can do some sort of targeting to. So the costs have actually come down in terms of marketing.” In terms of revenue, he said that a 40 percent increase has already been recorded from last year and they are expected to break even this year.

     

    Sponsors for this year who have already signed up include Coke, Samsung and Maruti as presenting sponsors. Out of these, Maruti and Samsung are repeat sponsors from last year. HUL and Hero have signed up as the co sponsors for this season, again both are repeat sponsors from last season. Sponsors under the New Partner Categories include, E Bay, Kotak Mahindra bank, Citi Bank and Karbonn Mobiles.

     

    Mr Khiani said that Indiatimes has observed a clear growth in terms of both page views and monetization through the sponsors. He also said that a tournament like IPL has a ‘halo effect’ in terms of returns on investment. He said, “The halo effect is something that we see not just from current monetization this season but from annual deals we do, like the video inventory that we sell. We also introduce new formats for potential advertisers who then get introduced to the Times Network and once they are introduced to the Times Network and they have seen return on investment, they are bound to advertise with us. We’ve seen them advertise with us through the year. So that halo effect kicks in. So in terms of monetization, it is a good investment and in terms of the brand association with IPL and the halo effect, it’s even better.”

     

  • Tweek can be accessed via iPad and will soon be launched for iPhone and Android devices. The application has been developed in partnership with GENWI

    Times Internet’s ‘Tweek’ hits the market

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tablet users can now discover a whole new world of information and entertainment at their fingertips, with the launch of India’s first tablet magazine, Tweek. Created by Times Internet Limited (TIL), Tweek can be accessed via iPad and will soon be launched for iPhone and Android devices. The application has been developed in partnership with GENWI, inventor and leader of cloud-based mobile publishing.

     

    The weekly magazine will offer content with an urban perspective. Keeping in mind people’s wide range of interests, Tweek will feature stories from around the world across business, entertainment, lifestyle and sport. Its interactive format will allow readers to not just instantly share stories through social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter, but also share their feedback with the Tweek team. Tweek has also enabled the reader to not just read a story, but also to listen to and watch it and thus, experience the content.

     

    In a first-of-its-kind, readers will be able to actively shape a magazine. They will be able to connect directly with the writers of Tweek, and share their feedback about the stories they enjoyed, effectively ‘Tweek’ing the magazine to something they would look forward to reading every week.

     

    “Tweek offers its readers an unparalleled experience in terms of interactivity, customization and usability. Its content will be kept fresh and relevant by the large database of content available within the TIL network. With its launch, we intend to pioneer the tablet magazine space in India” said Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Limited.

     

    Mr Khiani also said that they are interested in experimenting with different ways to monetize the content beyond traditional web advertising. Taking advantage of this new medium which incorporates the rich engagement features of the web into a mobile touch experience on a larger screen they hope can deliver new advertising concepts.

     

    GENWI’s Cloud Publish solution enables has enabled Tweek to deliver contextual commerce, rich-media advertorials that are geo-location aware, and switch out advertisers or ad units on the fly.

     

    Given the flexibility of GENWI’s mobile content management system, the partnership with GENWI will allow TIL complete creative freedom and control to deliver a beautifully branded magazine-like experience on an app.

     

    PJ Gurumohan, Founder and CEO of GENWI said: “With the power of the cloud, Tweek will save time and production costs by reusing design layouts from week to week – all in standard web-based protocols such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. But, the most groundbreaking aspect of the application is the way it surfaces existing content and takes full advantage of the tablet experience to create higher levels of reader engagement and the flexibility to explore new monetization channels.”

     

    Times Internet Limited, (TIL), is the internet and mobile venture of India’s largest media house – the Times Group. Indiatimes.com, TIL’s flagship brand, commands more than one billion views per month. The other key properties in the TIL portfolio are Timesofindia.com and economictimes.com.

     

    GENWI ( www.genwi.com ) makes mobile publishing simple – in the cloud. As the inventor and leader of cloud-based mobile publishing, GENWI enables publishers and enterprises to easily manage content across mobile platforms, deliver an excellent brand experience, and find new monetization opportunities.

     

    Also read
    http://www.mxmindia.com/2011/11/inma-toi-launches-tweek/

  • It is the first ever Indian shopping portal to deliver mobile devices directly from manufacturers to users.

    Nokia, Indiatimes join to launch NokiaShop

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nokia India in association with Indiatimes Shopping announced the launch of Nokia’s online store- NokiaShop, the first online shopping portal in India to deliver mobile devices directly from the manufacturer to the users.

     

    Nokia Shop will offer the entire portfolio of Nokia devices as well as accessories to the consumers at the convenience of online shopping.

     

    The association between the two leading organizations will serve as a game-changer in the growing Indian e-commerce space as users can now buy handsets directly from the manufacturer, without needing any dealer or reseller in between. For the online space this is an unprecedented initiative and will bring about a major shift in consumer behaviour in the mobile phone category.

     

    According to Viral Oza, Director- Marketing, Nokia India: “At Nokia, we have always invested ahead of the curve in setting up a formidable retail network. Today, as online shopping gains momentum, we are the first mobile handset company to set up a branded online store. Through our association with Indiatimes Shopping, we are confident that we will be able to offer a superior online shopping experience to our consumer by giving them an opportunity to buy directly from Nokia.”

     

    “This partnership is a step further in our aim to bring more offline brands to the online space. With our brand strength, resources, knowledge and credibility in the e-commerce space, we are confident of providing Nokia the right platform to connect with its users,” says Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Ltd.

     

    Regarding the tie up, Gautam Sinha, Director Technology & e-commerce head, Times Internet Ltd said: “We are pleased to partner with a top brand like Nokia and help them reach their online customers. We hope to witness strong synergistic growth capturing majority of online mobile handset market in the next few months.”

     

    Consumers can make purchases from Nokia.indiatimes.com, and payment options are through credit card or cash on delivery. Customers can also convert their payment amount into interest-free EMIs.

     

    The Nokia Shop offers the entire range of Nokia devices, including smartphones, dual SIM phones, touch and type, Qwerty, touchphones and value phones. The prices offered on the online store are Best Buy prices.

     

    A recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) revealed that India’s e-commerce market is growing at an average rate of 70 per cent annually, and has grown over 500 per cent in the past three years alone. Given the potential of e-commerce industry, Indiatimes and Nokia are confident of high growth in the mobile phone category within the next two quarters.

     

  • The most-read business daily launches applications for all mobile and tablet formats.

    Economic Times, now on mobile and tablet

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Economic Times,India’s most-read business newspaper and most-visited business and finance site, has now launched mobile applications for the iPad, iPhone, Android phone, BlackBerry, Nokia and Windows Phone.

     

    The apps combine ET’s cutting edge business news and market analysis with the best browsing experience, thanks to the simple navigation and clutter-free layout.

     

    The applications have been designed keeping in mind the audiences’ preference for live coverage of the business news and markets. All the apps provide in-depth and analytical coverage of the stock markets, with live stock quotes from BSE and NSE.  The sleek user-friendly apps feature the latest and most important news as it happens, along with the choicest of analysis and features from ET’s print editions.

     

    These apps also provide forex rates, commodities updates and news about the global markets. Stock recommendations and experts’ views from ET Now are featured through the market hours. Users can also track the stocks on their watch-list and monitor live gainers, losers and movers.

     

    Announcing the launch of these applications, Rishi Khiani, CEO of Times Internet Ltd, said: “This stack of ET Mobile apps fill an important need for ET readers. Within a short time of launch, ET’s iPad & iPhone apps topped the most popular charts on the Apple website. We have received a phenomenal response to our Android app as well. The latest entrants to our portfolio are apps for both Nokia Symbian/Anna smartphones and also for Windows. All the apps will be constantly upgraded and more features added in the weeks to come.”

     

    All Economic Times applications let users share articles or photos on Facebook and Twitter, and also via e-mail.