Network18 launches In.com, plans to start mobile version, too

The company claims that around a million users have already registered with In.com and it receives seven million unique visitors every month

Web18, the company which manages the Internet properties of the Network18 Group, has launched a horizontal portal called In.com. The website, targeted at the youth, offers news and entertainment related content in the form of videos, music and games.

Although the site went live in July 2008, it was opened up to the general public only in August. The site is claimed to already have about a million registered users and seven million unique visitors every month.

There are plans to launch a mobile version of In.com in the coming months.

Unlike other horizontal portals such as MSN, Rediff and Yahoo, most of the content on In.com is not produced by Web18. It is sourced through a machine enabled search process, under which In.com searches the Internet for popular videos, games and news content and aggregates it on the website.

To source music content, the company has tied up with various music labels, such as T-Series, Tips, Eros, Big Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music and Virgin EMI.

Speaking to afaqs!, Rishi Khiani, chief operating officer, Web18, says, "In terms of localisation of content, we are planning to start aggregating and offering regional language content in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam in the near future."

Currently, the site offers news content in English, and music and videos in both English and Hindi.

The company has already started using online and offline advertising for brand building and traffic generation on the site. Quasar Media, which is in charge of the online advertising for the brand, has released a display advertising campaign, which can be seen on all major portals such as Yahoo!, Rediff, Sify and MSN. Search marketing and search engine optimisation are also being used to promote the site.

Web18 has also launched five television commercials, which went on air across the TV channels owned by Network18, as well as other channels such as Zee Cinema, SET Max, STAR World and Sun TV. The commercials have been developed by Cell18, Network18’s creative division.

Khiani says, "We are planning to launch a print and outdoor campaign in the next three weeks. Below-the-line marketing activities will also be carried out across various malls and multiplexes."

The site will rely on advertising as its primary source of revenue. "We will use contextual text and display advertising, cobranding of content, branded games and audio spots inside music files to earn revenue," says Khiani.