Reuters launches India website, mobile portal

With heightened focus on online news in India, Reuters has launched an ad-supported English website, www.reuters.co.in. The company has also launched a mobile site, wap.reuters.co.in, which can be accessed through GPRS. The website has a channel on South Asia, the first on any Reuters international site.

Speaking to agencyfaqs!, SN Bhaduri, general manager, consumer media, Reuters India, said, "We were essentially a client facing website and it showcased the content that we were giving to our clients. Now, we are a consumer-facing site and are building a strong editorial team.” This focus on the consumer is the reason advertising has been started on the website, the first advertiser being Sharekhan.

Adding that the audience would comprise largely professionals, Bhaduri said, “We believe the Indian audience, particularly professionals, is interested in what is happening in their neighbourhood. So, we launched the channel on South Asia.” The launch is the result of an online survey that Reuters conducted globally over the past three months, including in India.

Bhaduri adds that readers may expect more channels over the coming months. This includes channels on cricket and Bollywood – India’s ruling passions. However, he says that sports would not be restricted to cricket, but also cater to the growing interest in sports like soccer, golf and Formula One.

Video plays a significant role on the new site and it draws on Reuters’ tie-ups with Times Now and ANI.

Reuters India has a blogs section where relevant and high-quality posts will be featured through Pluck, a blog syndication network in which Reuters invested $7 million in November 2006.

The website has been designed in-house by the company and has been running in beta stage for a month. Bhaduri adds that the site has received 560,000 unique visitors in the period.

The mobile portal has been designed by the agency, Mobile2win, and is based on the international Reuters mobile site, mobile.reuters.com