Republic World

About Republic World

Republic World is the digital news arm of the Republic Media Network, published from Mumbai. The website at republicworld.com serves as the online companion to Republic TV, the English-language news channel launched by journalist Arnab Goswami. Launched in July 2017, two months after the television channel went on air, Republic World was designed from the start as a mobile-first digital destination with vertical videos, virtual reality content and customisable multilingual feeds. It covers national and world news alongside politics, business, sports, entertainment, technology and lifestyle, and has grown into one of the fastest-growing English news websites in India.

Founding and launch

Republic World was launched in July 2017 by Republic TV, the news channel founded by Arnab Goswami. Goswami, one of India's best-known television news anchors, had exited Times Now, where he hosted the flagship debate show, and announced the Republic venture as an independent media company. Republic TV itself launched on 6 May 2017 and was co-founded by Goswami along with investor Rajeev Chandrasekhar under the Republic Media Network. The website was formally unveiled on 7 July 2017, positioned as the channel's digital cousin. Republic was presented at launch as India's first independent media venture managed purely by content professionals, and the brand's website quickly became the fastest-growing English news website in India after its debut.

A mobile-first digital design

From the beginning, republicworld.com was conceived as a mobile-first product rather than a website adapted for phones. Its design is clean and visually heavy, with news segregated under sections covering general news, politics, sports, lifestyle, technology and entertainment. A signature innovation at launch was long-format live and video-on-demand content shot as vertical videos specifically for mobile audiences, so users never had to rotate their devices while streaming. The platform also invested in 360-degree and virtual reality content, aiming to let viewers experience on-ground reportage — such as being at a political rally — in a more immersive manner. Algorithmically driven customisation of the feed was another launch feature, letting readers shape what they saw.

Multilingual reach through partnerships

One of the website's most distinctive features is its multilingual offering. Readers can customise the language of the site across Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali and Odia. Republic World achieved this breadth through partnerships with regional media houses and digital outlets across India. Launch partners included names such as Dainik Bhaskar, Lokmat, Punjab Kesari, Aajkaal, OTV, Sambad, News Live, Asianet News, Kannada Prabha, Suvarna News and Vikatan TV, among others, with eight partnerships specifically with digital outlets. Community and content partners at launch included Tripoto, YourStory, Digit.in, LBB.in and AutoX, giving the site vertical content in travel, startups, gadgets, food and automobiles.

Sections and content verticals

Republic World publishes across a broad set of categories. The main news sections cover India news, world news and politics, complemented by business, sports, entertainment, lifestyle and technology. The site builds communities around content verticals — described at launch as habits — such as entertainment, music, gadgets and travel, each developed with specialist publishing partners. Visitors can also watch Republic TV's signature shows and debates on the website, including Goswami's debate programmes, which bridges the television and digital audiences. Opinion and analysis sit alongside straight news reporting, and the site carries live updates on major developing stories, elections and sporting events.

The Republic Media Network family

Republic World is part of the Republic Media Network, which has expanded well beyond its original English channel. The network operates Republic TV, the flagship English news channel; Republic Bharat, the Hindi news channel; Republic Bangla, the Bengali news channel; and Republic Kannada, the Kannada news channel. Together these channels give the group a presence across India's major language markets, and the digital platform draws on reporting from across the network. The group describes itself as a media-tech company and India's first global media brand, and the channel has claimed market leadership in English news viewership since its first day of telecast, a position it has maintained through its debate-led programming.

Editorial identity

Republic World's editorial identity closely mirrors that of Republic TV: loud, debate-driven and unapologetically nationalist in tone. The brand's promise centres on what it calls independent media, with Goswami frequently describing the venture as a people's movement against what he terms compromised or agenda-driven journalism. The channel and website have been described by media observers as right-wing and conservative in their editorial stance, and as supportive of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, characterisations the network rejects. The site has also faced criticism over the spread of misinformation on multiple occasions. Regardless of where one stands on its journalism, its style — confrontational debates, high-decibel presentation and strong positions — has proved commercially potent and widely imitated across Indian news television.

The app and digital distribution

Republic World extends beyond the website through its mobile app, Republic World Digital, which has been available on Android since November 2017. The app is rated highly by users, holding a rating of around 4.2 out of 5 stars from more than a hundred thousand ratings, and is positioned as light on the phone but heavy on news. The digital brand has also pursued distribution partnerships with streaming platforms: in 2017 it announced a strategic tie-up with SonyLIV to expand its digital presence, and its content and live streams have been carried on platforms serving Indian audiences at home and abroad. Social media is a major distribution channel, with large followings on X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube driving significant referral traffic to the website.

Audience and growth

Republic World's growth trajectory has been among the steepest in Indian digital news. The brand's own communications describe republicworld.com as the fastest-growing English news website in India since its July 2017 launch, a claim made within months of going live. Its rise coincided with the broader shift of Indian news consumption towards mobile and video, a shift the site was explicitly built to capture. The combination of the television channel's large viewership, the website's mobile-first design and aggressive social media distribution gave Republic a digital audience that many legacy news brands took years to build. Today it competes directly with the digital arms of the Times Group, Network18 and Zee Media for English-language news audiences online.

Leadership and newsroom

The Republic Media Network is led by its founder and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, who remains the public face of the brand across television and digital. The network is headquartered in Mumbai, and its newsroom combines television journalists, digital reporters and producers working across languages. As a venture managed by content professionals rather than a diversified corporate conglomerate, Republic has cultivated an image of editorial independence from large industrial houses, though its investor backing has been a subject of public scrutiny. The digital team operates the website, app and social channels as an integrated newsroom with the broadcast side, so stories frequently move between the television debates and the website's live coverage.

Official website and how to access Republic World

Republic World's official website is republicworld.com, free to access without a subscription. Readers can download the Republic World app on Android and iOS for a mobile-optimised experience with personalised feeds, vertical video and live updates. The site offers content in English with multilingual options across Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali and Odia through its partner network. Republic World is also active on X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, where it streams debates and posts breaking news through the day. For readers who want news in the Republic style — fast, debate-led and opinionated — the website is the network's primary digital destination.