New Delhi: Viber, the leading mobile communications app offering free messaging and HD-quality calls, today announced that cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s Public Chat is the first to exceed one million followers. Tendulkar’s Public Chat, which allows fans to get on the inside with the renowned Indian cricketer, has been gaining astonishing growth since its launch on November 18th, hitting the one million mark in less than one month.
“Exceeding one million followers in less than a month for one of our Public Chats is an important milestone for Viber,” said Talmon Marco, Viber’s CEO. “Our vision for Public Chats was to provide people with a ‘fly on the wall’ experience of what their favourite celebrities and personalities were chatting about. Sachin Tendulkar’s Public Chat truly brings this vision to life, inviting Viber users to get an insider’s view into his world on a daily basis.”
"We are extremely excited to announce that Sachin Tendulkar’s Viber Public Chats has crossed the one million followers mark within a month of its launch!” said Anubhav Nayyar, Viber Country Manager for India, where Tendulkar’s Public Chat was established. “Globally, it’s our first group to hit this magic number. For us, this is just the start of Viber Public Chats gaining popularity in India and testimony to its tremendous growth in the social media space.“ India is the largest country for Viber globally, with 33 million users.
Tendulkar launched his Public Chat by saying, “Glad to be on Viber. This will be a great platform for me to connect with all my fans and loved ones. I will be putting up a lot of exclusive pictures on this platform so keep following!”
Launched on Viber last month, Public Chats allows users to discover, share and follow live discussions from a wide variety of celebrities, personalities and brands across many genres including music, sports, fashion, entertainment and more, using the familiar interface of the instant messaging platform.
Other popular Public Chats include British singer-songwriter Pixie Lott, with almost 570k followers; international DJ Paul van Dyk, with almost 225k followers; and digital fashion innovators Next Model Management, with more than 170k followers.