HT Media has launched an accelerator program called MediaHack in partnership with media investment firm North Base Media (NBM), specifically for early-stage startups in the media entertainment and content segment. For the next six weeks startups in this space will be able to apply for the first batch of this program. HT Media's head of digital business Amit Garg told MediaNama that "at the end of these six weeks, we’ll take about two to three weeks to shortlist about 25-30 ideas/startups, whom we’ll be calling for a face-to-face interactions, and then finally we will select about 8-12 startups for the program." He however added that "the final number will depend on the number of applications we receive, the quality of the ideas and also our bandwidth." He also mentioned that "these selected startups will then be mentored and provided with all possible support over the next few months at the end of which we will organize a Demo Day, where we’ll invites investors, other media companies to have a look at the idea." HT Media & North Base Media will initially be investing $50,000 to $100,000 in the selected startups for a minority stake. To be eligible for the program, the startups need to be: - Independent of any large corporate ownership. - Should be in the media content production, aggregation, distribution space, or media advertising or technology startups supporting the media business. - Should have a ready product prototype, plus a clear idea about how to build the business.…
