Bharti Softbank acquires 36.5% stake in entertainment media start-up Scoopwhoop

Bharti Softbank (BSB), a JV between Bharti Enterprises and Japan-based SOFTBANK CORP, recently announced that it has acquired equity stake in ScoopWhoop Media Private Limited (ScoopWhoop) through its BSB Portal Limited.

ScoopWhoop is an India focused Entertainment Media startup that creates and curates content that gets shared through social networks. Its website and mobile application clock approximately 20 million monthly page views and have over 8 million unique visitors each month. Over half of all the page views are accessed via smartphones, underlining the strong mobile play.

BSB Portal Limited will have an effective stake of 36.5 per cent in ScoopWhoop. The partnership will combine the strengths of both – i.e., content creation for Indian youth by ScoopWhoop and mobile-optimized technology platform and distribution by BSB for Indian consumers.
 

Commenting on the partnership, Madhu Nori, CEO, BSB Portal Limited said, “About a half of India’s population are under 25 years old and the use of social networks with smartphones is growing rapidly among this segment. As a result, Media consumption patterns are rapidly evolving and this space is ready for disruption. The team at ScoopWhoop have demonstrated significant growth by leveraging their strength in understanding and creating locally relevant content for India’s young audience. We believe the partnership offers immense synergies for both parties to create great content experience for India’s mobile internet population.”
 

India is the world’s second largest mobile market with over 900 billion subscribers. A vast youth population and a fast growing economy are expected to drive data usage on mobiles with the proliferation of 3G and 4G services and increasing smartphone penetration. According to the GSMA, India will become the second largest Mobile Broadband market globally within the next four years with 367 million mobile broadband connections by 2016.
 

Sattvik Mishra, Co-Founder and CEO, ScoopWhoop, said, “We are really happy with what we have achieved in the last one year since we started ScoopWhoop in August 2013, but we also know that we have a long road ahead. In BSB, we found the perfect partner who believes in our vision and back us both financially and strategically. I’d also like to thank Sidharth Rao and Haresh Chawla for their constant guidance and advice. With the backup of right partner and advisors, we are gunning for the number one spot.”