News Broadcasting
Internet company UCWeb launches UC News, aimed at India
NEW DELHI: Leading mobile internet company UCWeb Inc.has launched UC News App and an upgraded UC Browser. The UC News is an app launched by the company meant exclusively for India.
Part of Alibaba Mobile Business Group, UC Web nnounced its strategy for 2016 in which UC News is powered by big data technology and is a one-stop source of trending and curated news content covering all popular categories that Indian users can consume on the go.
It also announced that UC Browser India’s monthly active user base has reached 80 million and continues to grow rapidly. UC Browser is now revamped as a content aggregator and, according to StatCounter, the most used mobile browser in India with over 58% market share as of May 2016.
UC Browser’s usage data shows 73% of its 80 million MAU are tagged as “News Feeds Consumers”. On an average, each UC Browser’s Indian user consumes 6 pieces of news/feeds per day.
Kenny Ye, who is General Manager of UCWeb in the Alibaba Mobile Business Group said, “Digital content consumption is on the rise and the challenge is how we can customize, curate and present diverse content to users. Content providers face difficulties in distributing content of different formats, while consumers are swamped by an information overload. Our answer to these challenges is to position ourselves as a content aggregator. The newly launched UC News and upgraded UC Browser for India are two contemporary products embedded with the aim of content aggregation.” The revamped UC Browser also features UC Cricket, an in-app, all–in-one cricket content hub.
UC News offers a platform that brings together both traditional and new media content creators in a single place, and introduces them to millions of Indian users who already enjoy a faster browsing experience on UC Bowser. UC News is an easy to use app, and features a unique and highly user-friendly interface. It is a one-stop source of trending and curated news content covering all the popular categories of news with 20+ featured channels including news, cricket, technology, entertainment, movies, lifestyle, health, humour, etc.
UC News tracks and matches the trending keywords on Facebook and Twitter, and decides on the trending topics before recommending them to the user. UC News also allows users to customize content subscription, as they can choose any kind of content they wish to consume.
To help make valuable opinions heard, UC News is planning to partner with self-publishers and key opinion leaders in the future for original content.
UCWeb in India has grown on the strength of its technology and innovation. The data compression algorithms of UC Browser have helped millions of Indians gain access to the internet at faster speeds without premium pricing, thereby making UC Browser a window to the world for many first time mobile phone users. The latest round of service offerings is set to consolidate UCWeb’s leadership in India’s mobile internet market while helping drive internet accessibility and powering a connected and digital India.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
