The strategic partnership comes as Luminary expands internationally to advance its mission of informing, educating, and entertaining the world with a high-quality podcast experience built by and for passionate listeners and creators
Luminary, among the world’s leading subscription platforms for high-quality podcasts, today announced a partnership with Times Bridge to bring its premium audio experience to Indian consumers. Times Bridge, a leading global investments and partnerships firm, will enable Luminary to launch, scale and expand its reach in India, the world’s largest open Internet market.
With news of this strategic partnership, Luminary joins Times Bridge’s global portfolio of market-leading, mission-driven partners who see India as essential to their global business: consumer and enterprise businesses alike, including Airbnb, Coursera, Headspace, Houzz, Stack Overflow, Smule, Uber and Wattpad, have all generated outsized global value for themselves in recent years by partnering with Times Bridge in India. Times Bridge is a division of The Times Group, India’s oldest and largest media and digital company.
Founded in 2018 and backed by marquee global investors including NEA, Luminary has set out to transform the global podcasting industry by offering an elevated experience for both listeners and creators. The company offers a subscription service for its premium content – which features personalities such as Russell Brand, Lena Dunham, Trevor Noah, and Dave Chappelle – and has amassed a slew of accolades, most recently from The New Yorker, The Webby Awards and Adweek. In April, Luminary announced that its podcasts would be offered on the Luminary channel of Apple Podcasts, making them available globally.
Luminary’s official launch in the Indian market coincides with exceptional growth in audio consumption across India in recent years. The country is now the world’s third-largest podcast market, after China and the United States, with a monthly listenership of 58 million and expected growth to 200 million by 2024. Luminary aims to meaningfully cater to India’s vibrant cultural, demographic and linguistic diversity with soon-to-be-launched exclusive Indian content.
Drawing on Times Bridge’s local know-how, its operational support and the unmatched reach of Times Group assets, Luminary will forge strategic partnerships, launch original Indian content, build a localized brand voice and contextualize its product experience for the Indian market. Times Bridge’s unique influence-and-insight oriented approach and dedicated resources will accelerate the growth of Luminary’s platform and advance its mission in India.
Simon Sutton, CEO of Luminary Media, said, “India is an incredibly exciting audio market, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to serve it with Times Bridge. We cannot wait for Indian audiences to experience our unique content offering. Over the course of the next year, we plan on becoming a part of the robust Indian podcast ecosystem. “
Rishi Jaitly, CEO of Times Bridge, added: “Times Bridge’s mission is to bring the world’s best ideas to India and share India’s best insights with the world. Luminary is an original idea with proven appeal with audiences who are passionate about high-quality audio experiences. With podcasting as a medium on the rise in India, and with millions of Indians now developing a habit of educating and engaging via audio, we are confident Luminary will delight new audiences in India – and unlock new stories from India for the world.”