The Times of Central Asia

What The Times of Central Asia does

The Times of Central Asia (TCA) is a privately held digital news publication that provides comprehensive coverage of political, economic, business, cultural, and environmental developments across the five Central Asian republics — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The company operates the timesca.com website as its core product, delivering free, ad-supported content in up to ten languages, including English, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkish, Uzbek, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Editorial output is organized across eight sections — Features, Opinions, Business & Economy, Local Politics, International Affairs, Life & Culture, Justice, and Environment — with country-specific landing pages for each covered state.

TCA extends its reach through an audio portfolio. Since October 19, 2023, the company has been the home of the "Spotlight on Central Asia" podcast, a fortnightly program co-produced with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and chaired by broadcasters Bruce Pannier and Michael Hillard. A second in-house podcast, "Sunkar," supplements the audio inventory. The publication is led by founder and owner Giorgio Fiacconi and supported by a distributed team of editors and opinion writers.

Revenue is generated primarily through digital advertising on the website, with a supplementary content-partnership arrangement via the Oxus Society. No subscription or paywall model is in use, and no public pricing or revenue figures have been disclosed. The underlying technology is a standard web-based CMS with multi-language support; no proprietary AI, integrations, or APIs are documented.

Name

The Times of Central Asia

Legal name

The Times of Central Asia

Website

https://timesca.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Times of Central Asia is a private, ad-supported digital news publication covering politics, business, and culture across the five Central Asian republics via a multi-language website and two podcasts, serving general readers, policy analysts, and diaspora communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online News & Digital Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

News & Content Aggregation Portals (BPAMAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Podcast Hosting Platforms (RSS, Analytics, Distribution) (MPACADAA)

Keywords

• Online news publishing
• Central Asia coverage
• Multilingual news media
• Regional news analysis
• News podcast production

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising: The publication generates revenue through digital advertising on its website, evidenced by Twitter/X tracking pixels and ad integration visible in the page source code.
2. Content Partnership: Partnership with Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs for co-producing the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast, extending reach and audience engagement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Times of Central Asia publishes a multilingual online news portal (timesca.com) delivering news, opinion, and analysis on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan across eight editorial sections. It complements written coverage with two podcasts — the fortnightly Spotlight on Central Asia podcast (in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs) and the Sunkar podcast — and distributes content free of charge to global readers.

Product overview

The Times of Central Asia operates as a unified online news publication platform serving the Central Asian region. The core offering is the timesca.com website, which provides multilingual (English, Russian, and Central Asian languages) news coverage organized across eight editorial sections: Features, Opinions, Business & Economy, Local Politics, International Affairs, Life & Culture, Justice, and Environment. The publication extends its reach through two branded podcast products — the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast (produced in partnership with the Oxus Society) and the Sunkar Podcast — which deliver audio analysis of regional developments. The portfolio functions as a single integrated news service rather than a modular platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Times of Central Asia Website (timesca.com) A multilingual (English, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Turkish, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional) online news portal providing comprehensive coverage of political, economic, business, cultural, and social developments across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Organized into eight editorial sections (Features, Opinions, Business & Economy, Local Politics, International Affairs, Life & Culture, Justice, Environment) with country-specific pages and multimedia content. Target users are general readers, policy analysts, business professionals, and Central Asian diaspora.
• Spotlight on Central Asia Podcast A fortnightly podcast produced in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, chaired by Bruce Pannier (RFE/RL's Majlis podcast) and Michael Hillard (The Red Line). Delivers in-depth audio analysis of news, security issues, and social trends across Central Asia. Distributed through podcast platforms.
• Sunkar Podcast An audio podcast featured on The Times of Central Asia website, covering news and current affairs topics relevant to the Central Asian region.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Oxus Society for Central Asian AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs to co-produce the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Starting October 19, The Times of Central Asia became the home of this fortnightly podcast, chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier (RFE/RL's Majlis podcast) and Michael Hillard (The Red Line). The podcast covers deep dives into news, developments, security issues, and social trends across Central Asia.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Eurasianet: English-language news outlet dedicated to Central Asia and the Caucasus, covering politics, business, and society. Directly comparable as a regional, English-first digital news publication targeting policy, business, and diaspora readers across the same five Central Asian countries.
• The Diplomat: Digital magazine covering geopolitics and international affairs across the Asia-Pacific, with regular Central Asia coverage. Comparable as an English-language, online-first publication covering politics, security, and economics of the same region.
• Caravanserai (RFE/RL-affiliated): RFE/RL's English-language outlet covering Central and South Asia with a comparable mix of news, features, and analysis for English-speaking readers in the region.

Others

• Foreign Policy magazine: US-based international affairs magazine covering geopolitics, including regular Central Asia analysis. Comparable on opinion and analysis content targeting policy makers, though not region-specific.

Emerging players

• Global Voices: Non-profit online newsroom aggregating and translating citizen-media and regional reporting, including Central Asia. Comparable as a multilingual digital publication covering the same region with an emphasis on translation and multi-language reach.
• Open Democracy: Online publication covering global politics and human rights, including Central Asia justice, governance, and society. Comparable as an English-language, web-first outlet serving policy and civic audiences interested in the region.

Broad incumbents

• Reuters Asia / Central Asia desk: Global wire service with active Central Asia reporting across politics and markets. Comparable on business and international affairs coverage, though much broader in geographic scope and scale.
• Nikkei Asia: Asia-focused digital news outlet from Nikkei with growing Central Asia coverage on business and geopolitics. Comparable audience of policy makers, business readers, and analysts tracking the region.
• Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL): Major US-funded international broadcaster with dedicated Central Asia services (e.g., Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen desks) and the Majlis podcast by Bruce Pannier. Overlaps directly on the Times of Central Asia's core audience and on its headline podcast host.
• AFP (Agence France-Presse): Global news agency providing wire and analytic coverage of Central Asia across politics, business, and security. Competes for the same policy and business reader audience in English.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thetimesoca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-times-of-central-asia
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheTimesofCentralAsia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

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 The Times of Central Asia