New Delhi: Gaana, India’s largest music streaming app, and Willow TV, the leading broadcaster of cricket in North America, will now offer bundled access to both services, and jointly market their offerings to the non-resident Indian (NRI) audience. This partnership brings together the market leaders in the respective categories – sports and music – for NRI media consumption.
Both businesses are part of Times Internet, which collectively reaches 10 million NRIs in the US market, making it the largest media offering in the NRI segment. While both Willow and Gaana offer individual subscription products, the bundled offering delivers substantially more value to their respective customer bases.
Gaana continues to grow, now reaching 25 million monthly active users, and crossing 500 million monthly streams globally in October for the first time. With this partnership, Gaana will leverage Times Internet’s global assets to build its international presence.
Prashan Agarwal, COO, Gaana, said, “With so many content choices available today, consumers look for value. By combining two of the biggest entertainment choices of NRI audiences – live cricket and unlimited Indian music – we now have a compelling bundle for our target audience. Willow TV is a household name for NRIs, and by now the addition of Gaana, both subscription products have been strengthened.”
Willow is one of the fastest growing sports networks in the US, featuring the most viewed cricket fixtures from around the world. Willow is the only channel that is dedicated to cricket in the US, with an aligned direct-to-consumer digital service at www.willow.tv. The channel and its associated TV Everywhere service is widely distributed by the largest satellite, cable, IPTV and OTT platforms in a variety of subscription packages, including sports packs and South Asian targeted packages.
Vijay Srinivasan, founder and CEO of Willow TV, said, “One of the big drivers for Willow’s acquisition by Times Internet was to leverage the assets of both companies for the benefit of our combined customer bases. The Willow/Gaana bundle is a unique product that brings together top tier sports and premium music at very affordable price points. Our audiences are sophisticated and discerning, while seeking value, and we will continue to be on the forefront of such innovations.”
Gaana and Willow are both part of Times Internet. Times Internet reaches over 178 million unique visitors a month, who collectively account for 2 billion visits and 13 billion minutes spent across web and mobile properties. Times Internet has a diversified set of 35+ digital consumer-facing businesses across news, entertainment, sports, utilities,, transactions, commerce, classifieds, local, and more. More than 10 million Americans access Willow TV, Cricbuzz, and other Times Internet digital assets on a monthly basis.
