Facebook has used Firstpost as the only Indian example in a case study on 8 global publishers who have found great success with Facebook Live
Firstpost.com, after successfully leveraging Facebook Live as a tool to broadcast news on its platform, is the only Indian news portal to find honorable mention in a Global Case Study created by Facebook on publishers who have found great success with FB Live. Through innovative use of technology, Firstpost used FB Live for covering the Indian Assembly Elections, live from five states.
Firstpost, India’s premier digital platform for news, analysis and opinion used multiple broadcast feeds via the Facebook Live API, anchored by a host in Mumbai with additional inputs and commentary from a panel of experts in its studio. The coverage ran uninterrupted for 4 hours live, and engaged a total of 1 million users. The Facebook Case study points out – “On May 19, Indians in five states cast votes to elect leaders to the legislative assembly. During the counting of votes, Firstpost turned its newsroom, production facility and regional bureau into a ‘television studio’, broadcasting on its website and to Facebook Live from Guwahati, the NCR, Chennai, Trivandrum, Kottayam, and New Jersey.”
Commenting on the development, Manish Maheshwari, CEO, Network18 Digital said, “We are delighted to be recognized alongside companies of Bay Area that are known for being at the cutting edge of the interplay of content-tech. The last couple of years have noticed an explosion of online video that is driven by technical innovation, initiatives from platforms like Facebook and investment by media companies like us. We will continue to experiment with new visual storytelling formats and newer ways of reaching out to the audiences. And we also look forward to being the partner of choice when it comes to digital news and opinions in the country.”
Firstpost is India’s premier digital platform for news, analysis and opinion. The website, which was launched in 2011, combines traditional tools of journalism with new narrative forms to provide readers critical perspective on the daily events that impact their lives.