Snapchat, the Hugely Popular Messaging App, Has Chosen NDTV as News Partner in India

NDTV has been chosen by Snap Inc for a unique collaboration, which will see NDTV providing breaking news and premium content to Snapchat's users in the country.  According to third party estimates, Snapchat has approximately 30 million users in India, though the company does not share region-specific data. Snap has no other relationship of this nature with a premium new media company in India. 

Snap Inc on Wednesday revealed that Snapchat's daily active users in India had increased nearly 150 percent in the past one year since the third quarter of last year. NDTV, the parent company of Gadgets 360, will provide Snapchat users with its premium content across news and other genres. Its product partnerships are across three news products — Pricee (product search), Ureqa (content recommendations), and Rail Beeps for travel. Aside from this, NDTV news videos will also be shared within the app, making it easier for users to share breaking news. All this information will be provided to Snapchat users by NDTV from within the app.

The Santa Monica, California-headquartered company also announced a Hindi makeover of its original series Phone Swap and the launch of new shows featuring Indian celebrities. Additionally, SnapKit integrations were announced during the event to provide entertainment and news content to Indian users. 

Although it did not reveal the number of users in India, Snap cited its internal data between the third quarter of last year and this year to highlight the growth of 150 percent daily active users. The company also mentioned that over four crores unique viewers in the country had watched a show from the Discover tab of the Snapchat app since August last year. The Discover tab was launched as a part of the Snapchat app in India in 2018.

Its partnership with NDTV to offer SnapKit integration will let users share news videos, breaking news stories, shows they're watching, price comparison information, and real-time train ETA when travelling across the country by train — all while inside the Snapchat app. 

To reach new users in the country, Snapchat is bringing a Hindi adaptation to Phone Swap, which is one of its longest running Snap Originals. There are also plans to bring new shows featuring celebrities, namely Anushka Sen, Raftaar, Ruhi Singh and Vir Das. All this will premiere in 2021.

Snapchat original Web series, shows, and games are getting ready for Indian users

Snap also announced the launch of a custom-made version of Ludo Club from Bengaluru-based Moonfrog Labs, which is the first Indian partner for the Snap Games platform. Another game, Ready Chef Go!, which is claimed to have seen 2.5 crores unique players in the first six months of its launch since December last year, will also receive an update with an Indian kitchen challenge called ‘Dosa Dash' that will bring Snapchat users the ability to virtually cook up Dosa with their friends.

Snapchat users will get an Indian kitchen challenge called ‘Dosa Dash' on the Ready Chef Go! game

“It's exciting to share what we've been working on over the past few months,” said Durgesh Kaushik, Head of India Market Development at Snap, in a prepared statement. “It's always been a priority to us that Snapchat feels like it was made just for you — no matter where you are in the world or the language that you speak.”

“We are thrilled with the momentum that we are seeing in India. And we are so grateful for the strong partnerships that have helped us serve our community of Snapchatters," said Evan Spiegel, Snap's Co-founder and CEO. "People in India have embraced the value of visual communications with close friends and family. And our community is growing faster than ever, with 150 percent growth in daily active users in the past year. No country has more young people than India, with over half the population under the age of 25."

In August last year, Snap opened its office in Mumbai as an initial effort to start localising its experience in the country. The company at that time announced that it achieved a 40 percent increase in its daily active users in the Indian market.

“One big aim for Snapchat in the Indian market is to increase the amount of cultural relevance we have within the overall community,” said Jared Grusd, Chief Strategy Officer, Snap, while speaking with Gadgets 360 at the time of launching its Mumbai office.

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