UCWEB LAUNCHES NEW UC BROWSER,ANNOUNCES STRATEGIG TIE UP WITH COLORS TV

-        New UC Browser offers direct news feeds from the recently launched UC News and options for personalisation, powered by its big-data technology

-        Strategic content partnership with Colors TV towards digitizing entertainment on mobile

by Shrutee Kate/DNS

Mumbai, August 23, 2016: UCWeb Inc., an Alibaba Mobile Business Group Company today launched a New UC Browser and announced its strategic partnership with Colors TV. Driven by big-data technology, the New UC Browser includes news feeds from UC News making it an integral part of UC Browser now, with more customisation options for the users. UC Browser has been updated keeping in mind the user preferences for trending and relevant information at the fingertip.

The partnership with Colors TV for some of its shows is a reinforcement of the strategy of Alibaba Mobile Business Group, to digitize entertainment content on mobile while transforming itself from tool to content and further offer more comprehensive content options to users who access internet on the go.

UCWeb has evolved from a mobile browser to a mobile media asset, offering mobile search and news feeds to over 420 Million Monthly Active users (MAUs) globally. Today UC Browser is the No. 1 independent browser in India and Indonesia, and is one of the world’s top 3 mobile browsers, according to StatCounter.

In Q1 FY 2016 - 2017 results of Alibaba Group, UCWeb has played a significant role by strengthening company's competitive positions in digital media and entertainment category. The digital media and entertainment segment of Alibaba Group operates businesses through multiple properties including UCWeb.

Commenting on the growth and new strategy, Jack Huang, President, Overseas Business, Alibaba Mobile Business Group said, “Our new milestone of reaching 420 million MAUs has placed us at par with Twitter and Instagram. Our vision in the coming years after success in India, is to serve half the population of the planet. Our strategy is to focus on "Glocalization" - which is going global by offering localized solutions in each market. We believe this strategy will lead us to a new digital era, which is GUF – Google, UCWeb and Facebook.”

UC Browser is India’s favourite mobile browser, with over 80 Million (MAUs) and a market share of close to 50% (Source StatCounter). The browser has brought faster internet access to millions of people residing in low bandwidth areas across the country. While the old browser just brought people on the internet, the New UC Browser recognizes that now is the right time to offer the right content to the right user.  

The New UC Browser embraces adaptability by offering direct news feeds from UC News, an app exclusively launched for India market in June 2016. Once a user selects his favourite topics, the algorithm adapts and offers more information on the topic of his choice. The information is shareable, can be customised and is available in 2 languages - English and Hindi, which will later, also be available in other regional languages, starting with Tamil.

The New UC Browser has a simple and clean UI  and the homepage is a lot more concise with one swipe allowing the option to switch from Browser to News. The personalised channel settings allow the users to choose their favourite news channels and make their own reading sequence, as per their individual preference. The user friendly browser also has a night mode feature that offers a convenient browsing experience during night.

According to content consumption trends on UC Browser’s base of 80 Million MAUs in India, 8 out of the top 10 English keywords search are related to entertainment. The same number falls to 3 for Hindi keywords. In News related content, 7 out of the top 10 Hindi news consumed is related to entertainment. Amongst Indian states, Maharashtra is, by far, the biggest consumption market in entertainment with over 42% of the daily content consumption. Mumbai justifies as the tag of the Entertainment Capital of India as it ranks ahead of other metros, followed by Delhi and Kolkata.

As pioneers in the mobile Internet revolution of India, UCWeb aims to be at the centre of this emerging trend and has collaborated with Colors TV – India’s leading Entertainment TV Channel. The vision is to offer Digitized Entertainment and utilise strengths of volume and power of the browser in content aggregation and to provide quality content to as many users as possible.

The strategic partnership is being built around 4 marquee shows of Colors; Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, 24, Big Boss and Comedy Nights Live. As part of the collaboration, UCWeb will create multiple engagement platforms around these shows for the users of UC Browser, 9Apps and UC News.

After being on-boarded as the “Trending Partner” for Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, fans will have access to an exclusive fan zone on the homepage of UC Browser offering behind the scenes content. The host of the show, Manish Paul will offer his whacky take on the show in the form of an exclusive blog. While the viewers of 24 can have the entire experience replicated for them on a game which will be first launched on 9Apps (UCWeb’s marketplace for mobile apps). The prime attraction is however, Big Boss season 10, where the users of UC Browser will have exclusive access to the footage behind the scenes; they can effectively choose the participants of the show, and much more.

Talking about the partnership, Robert Bu, General Manager, UCWeb India said, “Our partnership with Colors is unique in its own way. The partnership seeks to build long term engagement for the content on

Colors TV through multiple platforms such as blogs and behind the scenes videos, ensuring stickiness and long term engagement for these properties. Digital content consumption is on the rise and the challenge for content creators is to be able to customize, curate and present diverse content to users to strengthen their engagement. The solution that UC Browser is offering is “Digitized Entertainment.”

Speaking about the collaboration, Raj Nayak, CEO of Colors TV said, “Alliances are not just for visibility. Sometimes it is about ensuring the best user experience for consumers and enhanced viewer experience. At COLORS, we have always believed in conducting business that meets our consumer’s needs. Today, our viewers are mostly mobile owing to which we can draw synergies with a popular mobile browser like UC Browser, thereby making our content appealing to audiences regardless of the type of screen they’re using. With content on-the-go becoming a lucrative option for today’s viewers, associating with a brand like UC Browser, for shows including Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, Bigg Boss 10, Comedy Nights Live and 24: Season 2, allows us to explore different promotional strategies that make it a beneficial proposition for us.”

We-Media program : After success in China, UCWeb has now launched We-Media program in India. We-Media program offers a common platform for all viewpoints to be present together in one place, whether from a celebrity, blogger, key influencer or a common man. As a part of the Content strategy, We-Media aims to provide the users with a mix of both regular and niche content. We-Media program has already onboarded Manish Paul, host of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa as a celebrity blogger along with Chetan Bhagat – celebrity author, Lauren Gottlieb - celebrity dancer and many more.

About UCWeb:UCWeb Inc. (UCWeb) is a business within Alibaba Mobile Business Group and a leading provider of mobile internet software and services. Since its inception in 2004, UCWeb's mission has been to provide better mobile internet experience to people around the world. UC Browser, the flagship product of UCWeb, is compatible with all mainstream operating systems and available in 11 languages including English, Russian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese. As of June 2016, UC Browser had reached 420 million Monthly Active Users worldwide. Additional information about UCWeb and UC Browser can be found at www.ucweb.com 

About Alibaba Mobile Business Group : Alibaba Mobile Business Group is a leading provider of mobile services and content. Its product portfolio includes mobile browser, mobile search, location-based services, mobile gaming, app store and mobile reader operations. With its technologies and big data, Alibaba Mobile Business Group is committed to bringing about mobile internet innovation and reliability.

About COLORS TV : ‘COLORS’ is Viacom18’s flagship brand in the entertainment space in India. A combination of ‘emotions’ and ‘variety’, COLORS, launched on 21st July 2008, offers an entire spectrum of emotions to its viewers. From Fiction Shows to Format shows to Reality shows to Blockbuster Movies – the basket contains all ‘Jazbaat Ke Rang’. ‘COLORS’ is dedicated to promoting ‘Cohesive viewing’, through programmes like Ishq Ka Rang Safed, Balika Vadhu…Lamhe Pyaar Ke, Thapki…Pyaar Ki, Sasural Simar Ka, Shakti…Astitva Ke Ehsaas Kii, Udann, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat, Swaragini, Kasam…Tere Pyaar Ki, Krishndasi, Kawach…Kaali Shaktiyon Se, Shani, Comedy Nights LIVE, Comedy Nights Bachao, Naagin, Bigg Boss, 24, India’s Got Talent, Box Cricket League and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa amongst others.