MUMBAI: New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) has launched India’s first mobile-only vertical live channel with the name NDTV HOP Live. India has nearly 432 million internet users and this number is growing at a rate of 4-8 per cent, according to Deloitte’s Technology, Media and Telecommunication (TMT) prediction 2018- India edition. With the tremendous digital advances and ongoing smartphone revolution, NDTV HOP Live hopes to break the clutter of digital content and focuses on creating a young and energetic voice of the generation.

NDTV group CEO Suparna Singh said, "NDTV is valued and recognised for creating and launching terrific new content in the online space. This partnership with Airtel allows us to use to dream potential the possibilities of digital and telecom technology. "We know younger users want great content on the small screen. This is original, made-from-scratch content for them, not replicated or ported from our other platforms. It's very exciting to be rolling this out at this time in India."

The app has a mix of live shows and fast-paced features, it has ditched the horizontal view and has followed a more personal and focuses approach by adopting the vertical format. According to Counterpoint Research, a market research company, India will have more than a billion smartphone users in the next five years. The numbers of users will exceed 700 million by the year 2022.

Currently, India is the second largest smartphone industry in the world with more than 400 million active users, after China.

The app is available on Google Play store and IOS app store. It is also available exclusively on Airtel TV.

Commenting on the partnership, Bharti Airtel CEO - content and apps, Sameer Batra said, "We are delighted to join hands with NDTV to launch India's first LIVE channel for smartphones. Today's tech-savvy millennial wants to consume digital content on the go and our tie-up with NDTV is aimed at facilitating just that. Our deep understanding of customer's content consumption preferences coupled with NDTV's expertise is sure to create an enjoyable experience for users."