The Huffington Post Goes Live in India

GroupM comes on board as a strategic partner for brand synergies and advertising in India for The Huffington Post.

The Huffington Post Media Group and The Times of India Group have launched the Indian edition of The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.in/), a leading global source of breaking news, opinion, entertainment, and community. GroupM, the world's largest media network also comes on board as a strategic partner for brand synergies and advertising in India for the Huffington Post.

HuffPost India will combine The Huffington Post's award-winning news and blogging platform with the local expertise and reach of The Times of India Group. Both the companies have established an editorial team based in New Delhi. The English-language website will cover everything from politics, media and entertainment to technology, religion and lifestyle, and open up The Huffington Post's blogging platform to anyone in the country with a story to tell.

The editorial team is lead by Sruthijith KK, who is the editor-in-chief of Huffington Post India. Besides, Huffington Post has an eight member editorial team in India.

"I'm delighted to launch HuffPost India, which will be our 13th edition since we began our international expansion three years ago," says Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, "The launch comes at a moment when India is facing huge and unique challenges, but also when India's spiritual traditions have taken their place at the center of a global conversation about what it means to live a good life. It's in looking back to these ancient traditions and tools that so much of the wisdom and strength needed to build the future will be found. I'm thrilled that HuffPost India will be there to chronicle this story and - just as important - help Indians tell their stories themselves."

Satyan Gajwani, CEO of Times Internet (TIL), says, "We are very excited to launch Huffington Post India. Huffington Post is the first real digital-first news success story globally, and their impact is seen across the world. They've coupled a best-in-class technology platform with a fresh way of approaching the world's issues today. They have been a pioneer in doing a great mix of contemporary news coverage alongside great lifestyle, health and positive uplifting content. We look forward to bringing HuffPo's conversational approach to news to a large section of Indian audience."

CVL Srinivas¸CEO, GroupM South Asia, comments, "GroupM has been at the forefront of driving digital media innovations. Our strategic partnership with Huffington Post in India is another step in that direction. While advertising on digital has been growing at a healthy pace we believe brands are yet to harness the full potential of digital media. With an iconic player like Huffington Post, brands have a great opportunity to connect with their audiences. We will be working together to create these opportunities and are very excited about this partnership."

"As the world's largest democracy, and with a middle class of more than 250 million people, India is a critical destination for any global media company. And with Indian household consumption predicted to continue to grow nearly 20 per cent per year, this partnership gives us an ideal entry into what is expected to become the world's fifth-largest consumer market within the next ten years," says Jimmy Maymann, CEO, Huffington Post Media Group.

The Huffington Post is a Pulitzer Prize-winning source of breaking news, features, and entertainment, as well as a highly engaged community for opinion and conversation. The Huffington Post has 119 million multiplatform unique visitors per month in the U.S. (comScore, October 2014). The site has over 80,000 bloggers -- from politicians, students and celebrities to academics, parents and policy experts -- who contribute in real-time on the subjects they are most passionate about. The Huffington Post has editions in the UK, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, Maghreb, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, Greece and India. The Huffington Post is part of AOL Inc.

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