India Today Group extends brand Aaj Tak to launch mobile first channel MobileTak.in

To capitalise on the leadership and popularity of its Hindi news channel Aaj Tak, India Today Group has launched a new portfolio of seven niche digital channels across six platforms under the umbrella of Mobiletak.in. The digital channels are News Tak, Sports Tak, Food Tak, Life Tak, Astro Tak, Tech Tak and Yoga Tak.

Kalli Purie

Speaking on the proposition of the mobile first channels, Kalli Purie, Vice-Chairperson, India Today Group, said, “We felt that the digital versions of existing broadcast brands give you a sacred amount of audience. But they do not necessarily give you the millennial set of audience and for that you need to create original content for them according to their consumption habits. These channels are our foray into creating a portfolio of special interest digital mobile channels.”

Along with WAP, all the channels are also available on YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms. “Interestingly, some of the brands are doing better on one platform than the other. Like Sports Tak is doing very well on YouTube and in less than a month it has acquired more than 80,000 subscribers. At the same time Life Tak is doing phenomenally well on social media,” said Purie.

MobileTak is built over progressive web app technology that works on any handset and any operating system giving users access to content in the remotest parts of the country. The combination of content, technology and ease of sharing makes the platform very engaging for all users.

With ‘Share Kar’ as its tagline, sharing is at the heart of MobileTak and allows users to share content via Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and email with just a click of a button.

The platform is depending on advertising revenue and not considering the subscription model for now.

“There are a lot of advertising opportunities on these digital channels for monetisation. We are creating original content for mobile and the idea is be use all the platforms and monetise them. Our existing relationships with these platforms enable us to monetise our new brands from day one. Once you achieve a certain threshold and the brand is also popular then only you can gradually go for subscription-based revenue,” said Purie.

The group is using its existing resources in a more efficient way to begin with and will invest more as and when required. Initially, Mobiletak is being promoted on network platforms and a full-fledged marketing campaign will be launched later.

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