Huffington Post partners Times Group for India edition launch

US-headquartered news and views site Huffington Post will launch an India edition ‘later this year’. The announcement was made 21 August by The Huffington Post Media Group and The Times Group (BCCL), who have partnered for the launch.

This will be the 12^th edition since Huffington Post (founded 2005) began its international expansion three years ago, said Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief, Huffington Post Media Group.

A joint statement from the partners noted that India’s Internet user base is expected to reach 370 million by 2015. It added that HuffPost India will cover politics, media, entertainment, technology, religion and lifestyle, and ‘open up The Huffington Post’s blogging platform to anyone in the country with a story to tell’.

Satyan Gajwani, CEO, Times Internet (TIL), the digital arm of The Times Group, said, “The 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. We've demonstrated our ability to meaningfully grow international media brands, such as Business Insider, Gizmodo, and more. We are excited to combine HuffPost's world-class product with our local reach with consumers and advertisers to tailor-make a great new destination for Indian consumers."

Jimmy Maymann, group CEO, Huffington Post Media, added, "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."

The Huffington Post has 86 million monthly global unique visitors (desktop only, comScore, June 2014).