Colin Daniels, online publisher of The Times, says that one of the reasons for developing the portal was the growing popularity of the site's multimedia content. “Traffic to the video and podcasts sections has already grown by 147% this year,” Daniels explains. “We felt that by fully integrating our content offering and creating a slick, visual interface, we could really leverage this growth and create a truly comprehensive multimedia experience for our users.”
Multimedia.thetimes.co.za has been designed and developed by iLab, the digital innovation division of Avusa Media. The photos section showcases the collective work of the Sunday Times and The Times photographers. Readers can view the latest photo essays with written or audio commentary.
"The recent xenophobia story on the new Times multimedia photo section is a prime example of how important and impactful interactive galleries can be. Our new online photo platform has allowed us to break the story before any other print publication - and has sparked huge amounts of commentary," says Gregor Rohrig, new media specialist at iLab and compiler of "Flames of Hate" story, which has had over 8000 page views so far.
An added plus is that unlike most other multimedia content, the Photos section is much lighter on bandwidth and for this reason should appeal to a South African audience. The Nu Metro-sponsored trailers section has been introduced due to increasing reader demand to view the latest and upcoming movie trailers.
Improvements have also been made to the existing video and audio sections. “Due to the vast amount of video content we produce, we wanted to make it easier for users to access our content, consume it and interact with it,” Daniels explains.
Readers can now browse and search for content using a number of filters and controls. In keeping with the interactive nature of The Times, users are also able to comment, rate and share everything on the portal. Plans for phase two include a user-submitted content section, as well as a music section.
The relaunch of the multimedia portal is just the start of a number of new developments on The Times website. Although he's keeping details under wraps at this stage, Daniels says, “We're really excited about the projects we have in the pipeline. We want to create a unique and interactive online experience for our readers through constantly evolving and improving our offering.”
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