Times Internet released its first annual report in June 2019, outlining the digital ecosystem they were creating, and its everyday effect on the lives of our customers.
Times Internet is the largest outlet for digital Indian consumers. The media assets span news (TOI, ET, NBT), sports (Cricbuzz), lifestyle (Indiatimes, MensXP, iDiva), music (Gaana), and video (MX Player), and our enablement platforms serve users through personal finance (ETMoney), real estate (Magicbricks), education (Gradeup), food (Dineout), and more.
Underlying all of this is the Times Cloud Network, the connective tissue that lets users get a holistic understanding. It creates a strong media flywheel and enabling platforms, helping to discover low-cost products across our ecosystem.
Last year, Times Internet saw solid growth in audiences, crossing 110 million active daily users and 557 million active monthly users. Importantly, per-user interaction outperformed user growth, showing continued momentum of underlying assets.
Times Internet remains India’s biggest digital network, outside of Google and Facebook.
Music and video platforms (Gaana and MX Player) were growing fastest in the asset base, with usage growth of over 75 percent.
Non-English audience growth is outperforming English growth by an average of 4:1 over news and entertainment. Creating better non-English experiences is, of course, a key focus for platforms with the broadest scope.
TIL revenues rose 24 percent in FY20, closing at 1,625 crores* in INR. The three revenue lines are rising well due to COVID, despite a poor end of the year:
- Advertising sales increased by 22 percent, with music and video rising faster.
- Overall Times Prime subscribers and underlying individual products rose 62 percent last year and crossed 2 million subscribers.
- The annualized GMV in business transactions rose by 68%, with net sales increasing by 75%. Revenues have risen dramatically for our growing transaction businesses-Qureka has risen 8x, Gradeup 4x, and Dineout 2.4x.
Times Internet has expanded faster than industry despite the difficult market conditions. Though they saw steep declines from March to June, they rebounded well, with positive growth in July, and ended in positive growth for the fiscal year as a whole back in August!
Nearly all media firms were affected by the digital revolution across the world , making them smaller and harder to maintain businesses inside the modern economy. The Times Group has been running for 182 years, and for the next 182 years, Times Internet is a medium that will help the company retain its relevance and service to India. Thanks to BCCL’s Samir Jain and Vineet Jain for providing the voice, passion, space, and vision for Times Internet to achieve these heights, said Satyan Gajwani, Vice-President, Times Internet
We were lucky to be able to invest in a Times Internet that is based on a digital-first, new age, product-first operating ethos, not only financially but also with our commitment, conviction, and vision. Our culture, enthusiasm, and drive are our best assets and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve in the coming year, added Satyan.
MX Player and Gaana had released their short-form video platforms MX TakaTak and HotShots soon after the Indian government placed a ban on TikTok in June. Both record 800 million daily video views in under 2 months, according to the company. In addition, Gaana and MX Player per month expanded the scope of the company to 400 million users, spending over 115 billion minutes through music and long-form content.
In addition, the company plans to broaden its gaming and short-form content offerings in the year ahead. “Our goal is to hit 1 billion Indians by 2025 and become a 1 billion dollar revenue corporation,” Gajwani added.
