What Ada Derana does

Ada Derana is the digital news property of Derana MacroEntertainment (Pvt) Ltd, a privately held Sri Lankan media company headquartered at No. 320, T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10. Founded in late 2007, the brand operates a trilingual (Sinhala, Tamil, English) news platform delivered simultaneously through television, radio, web (adaderana.lk), native mobile applications for iOS and Android, SMS alerts distributed via mobile network operators including Dialog Telekom, IVR phone service, video alerts, and social media (Facebook, Twitter/X, and the 3M-subscriber AdaDeranaNews YouTube channel). The platform is ranked as the Number One news site used by Sri Lankans and is supported by a news team of approximately 100 people.

The underlying technology stack centers on a multi-channel content management and distribution system with an interactive Newsdesk - My Report feature for viewer-submitted reporting. Mobile apps integrate standard third-party services — Google Analytics for Firebase, Firebase Crashlytics, and Google AdMob — and there is no public API or developer SDK. The company has accumulated industry recognition including the SLIM Brand Excellence Silver Award for Most Innovative Brand, ICTA Best e-Content Application (e-Swabimani 2010), Sri Lanka Domain Registry Silver (2010), Manthan Award South Asia 2010, and the Global Understanding for Sustainable Development Award 2016.

Ada Derana operates a direct-to-consumer, ad-supported media business. News content is provided free to consumers; revenue is generated via display advertising on the website and mobile app from third-party advertisers (e.g., Asia Asset Finance, Mobitel, Mogo Academy). The audience is horizontal — general news consumers across Sri Lanka and the global Sri Lankan diaspora — with no disclosed enterprise or paying subscriber segment. No funding rounds, institutional investors, or revenue figures have been disclosed, and the parent entity Derana MacroEntertainment (Pvt) Ltd is privately held.

Name

Ada Derana

Legal name

Derana Macroentertainment (Pvt) Ltd

Website

https://adaderana.lk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Ada Derana is the digital news brand of Sri Lanka's Derana MacroEntertainment, delivering trilingual (Sinhala, Tamil, English) news across web, mobile apps, SMS, IVR, video, TV, radio, and social media to Sri Lankan consumers at home and globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombo

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising: Display advertising on website and mobile app through third-party advertisers such as Asia Asset Finance, Mobitel, Mogo Academy, and others

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ada Derana delivers trilingual (Sinhala, Tamil, English) news content 24/7 through a multi-platform distribution network spanning its website (www.adaderana.lk), native iOS/Android mobile apps, SMS alerts via telecom operators, IVR telephone service, video alerts, social media, and TV broadcast. Its ~100-person newsroom covers breaking news, sports, business, science & technology, entertainment, and current affairs for Sri Lankan audiences domestically and overseas.

Product overview

Ada Derana is a multi-platform Sri Lankan news broadcasting service operated by Derana MacroEntertainment (Pvt) Ltd, offering a comprehensive suite of news delivery channels. The core product portfolio includes the www.adaderana.lk multilingual web portal (available in English, Sinhala, and Tamil), a native mobile application for iOS and Android, SMS-based breaking news alerts through mobile operators, IVR phone services, video alerts, and social media distribution across Facebook, Twitter/X, and YouTube. The platform features an interactive Newsdesk - My Report component enabling viewer-generated content. The news team comprises approximately 100 people delivering content across Television, Radio, Web, SMS, IVR, and Video platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ada Derana News Website Trilingual (English, Sinhala, Tamil) news web portal at www.adaderana.lk ranked as the Number One news site used by Sri Lankans; delivers breaking news, analysis, sports, business, science & tech, entertainment and other categories, plus interactive community features (user comments and Newsdesk - My Report user-generated reports).
• Ada Derana Mobile Application Native mobile app developed by Derana Macroentertainment (Pvt) Ltd, available on iOS App Store and Google Play Store, providing multilingual news alerts, personalized content recommendations and push notifications.
• Ada Derana SMS Breaking News Alerts Short Text Message (SMS) breaking news alert service delivered through Sri Lankan mobile network operators (originally Dialog Telekom, now extended to leading operators), enabling instant news notifications to subscribers.
• Ada Derana IVR News Service Interactive Voice Response telephone-based news service that provides audio news access to users without requiring internet connectivity.
• Ada Derana Video Alerts Video-format news alert service delivering visual news content to audiences through mobile and web platforms.
• Ada Derana Social Media Distribution News content distribution across social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter/X (@adaderana), and YouTube (AdaDeranaNews Bulletin channel with 3M subscribers), used for top-of-funnel audience reach and engagement.
• Ada Derana Television Broadcast Television news broadcast service operating under the TV Derana / Derana media umbrella (No. 320, T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10), extending the Ada Derana brand into broadcast.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked as Number One news site used by Sri Lankans with higher user engagement than nearest competitor

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Dialog TelekomcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Partnership established in late 2007 to send breaking news alerts to all Dialog mobile subscribers as Short Text Messages (SMS). Currently instant news alerts can be obtained through all the leading operators.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EconomyNext: Sri Lanka-focused business and general digital news outlet; competes with Ada Derana's business/news segment for English-speaking professional readers and corporate advertisers.
• News 1st (MTV Channel): Sri Lankan multi-platform TV and digital news brand owned by MTV Channel; competes head-on with Ada Derana/TV Derana across television, web, and social news distribution.
• Daily FT (Financial Times of Sri Lanka): Sri Lankan business news portal that overlaps with Ada Derana's business news vertical; targets the same English-speaking professional audience and premium advertiser base.
• Hiru News: Leading Sinhala-language Sri Lankan digital news publisher with associated TV (Hiru TV) channel; competes directly with Ada Derana for Sinhala-speaking audiences and local ad revenue.
• The Daily News (Daily News LK): One of Sri Lanka's oldest English newspapers with a digital portal; directly competes with Ada Derana for general news readers and government/corporate ad spend.
• Daily Mirror Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka's other major English-language digital news publisher; directly competes with Ada Derana for the same domestic English-reading audience and Sri Lankan digital ad budget.

Regional players

• NDTV: Major Indian multi-platform digital news brand with strong YouTube presence; comparable business model (ad-supported digital news, video distribution, multilingual publishing) though focused on the Indian market.
• Manorama Online (Malayala Manorama): Major South Asian multilingual digital news publisher from India; comparable in trilingual regional-language digital publishing and multi-platform distribution, though primarily serving a different national market.

Broad incumbents

• Reuters News: Global wire service and digital news brand; competes for international/diaspora Sri Lankan readership and sets the benchmark for ad-supported digital news at scale.
• BBC News (Sinhala/Tamil services): International multilingual public broadcaster with dedicated Sinhala and Tamil services; competes for Sri Lankan and diaspora audiences, particularly on credibility and breaking news, though not a domestic ad competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adaderana
• YouTubeyoutube.com/AdaDeranaNews?sub_confirmation=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/adaderana
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adaderana-24

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ada Derana