iWorld
ESPNcricinfo launches new, reimagined app
MUMBAI: ESPNcricinfo’s news website recently launched a new and reimagined app on its 25th anniversary celebration this year. The new app reinforces the brand’s position as an innovator, introducing new features and delivers a unique blend of personalisation and performance along with the best coverage of the sport in India and globally.
The reimagined ESPNcricinfo phone app has more personal and dynamic and would be unique experience to each user based on their particular interests, while also enabling meaningful curation and presentation from ESPN’s storytellers, journalists and content creators. Cricket fans get:
- Super-fast, easy-to-access scores and the world’s most respected news, features and opinion coverage of cricket, presented in an integrated main content feed
- A powerful, easy-to-use interface that enhances user-driven personalisation
- Rich presentation of ESPNcricinfo’s industry-leading video content, including highlights, clips, original shows, commentary and analysis, all delivered right on the home screen.
ESPN India and South Asia head vice president Ramesh Kumar said, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of the re-imagined app, giving each and every fan a more personal experience with our industry leading scores, news and video.”
“We have always kept fans at the core of all we do. The new app marks the latest evolution in our storied history as one of the internet’s digital sports pioneers and is another way that ESPNcricinfo is raising the game for cricket fans in creating the best experience across every device and platform. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, ESPNcricinfo is more committed than ever to being every fans digital connection to the sport loved by nearly two billion people worldwide,” he added.
Fans can also watch live match action on ESPN.in.
From June 2017 to May 2018, ESPNcricinfo has seen a 50 per cent year-on-year increase in total minutes spent and a 300 per cent increase in video consumption. It is one of the most visited digital sports destinations in India with over one billion visits annually.
ESPNcricinfo’s programming around the series comprises pre and post-match shows, video highlights, though-provoking analysis with unmatched statistical data, specially designed to bring the game closer to fans. To help deliver its coverage, ESPNcricinfo has roped in top cricket talent as experts, including Mark Butcher, Steve Harmison, James Taylor, Ravi Bopara and Nick Compton, who mesh seamlessly with their Indian counterparts Murali Kartik Ajit Agarkar, Aakash Chopra and Murali Kartik.
iWorld
Meta opens Whatsapp to rival AI chatbots in Europe
Company allows access via Business API for 12 months to address EU antitrust concerns.
MUMBAI: Meta just cracked the door for rival AIs on Whatsapp because when regulators knock with antitrust gloves on, even the closed garden lets a few guests in. Meta Platforms will permit rival artificial intelligence chatbots to operate on Whatsapp in Europe for the next 12 months through the Whatsapp Business API, the company announced on 7 March 2026. The move comes in direct response to warnings from the European Commission, which last month signalled possible interim measures after rival complaints that Meta’s restrictions could cause “serious and irreparable harm” to competitors.
Meta had barred non-Meta AI chatbots from the platform on 15 January, limiting users to its own Meta AI assistant. The company will now charge a fee for rival AI services to access the Business API in Europe.
“For the next 12 months, we’ll support general purpose AI chatbots using the Whatsapp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission’s regulatory process,” a Meta spokesperson said. “We believe that this removes the need for any immediate intervention as it gives the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation.”
The European Commission confirmed it is reviewing whether the policy change impacts its assessment of potential interim measures and its ongoing antitrust probe into Meta.
The Interaction Company of California, developer of the Poke.com AI assistant and one of the complainants to EU and Italian regulators, criticised the proposal, though specific objections were not detailed.
The decision follows earlier action in Italy, where Meta allowed rival AI chatbots on Whatsapp in January after an order from the country’s antitrust authority. The Italian investigation continues.
A similar situation unfolded in Brazil, where Meta said the new policy will also apply after a court reinstated an injunction from the country’s antitrust authority that had been temporarily suspended in January.
Meta has long argued that hosting multiple chatbots strains its systems and that AI providers have alternative distribution channels, including app stores, search engines, email services, operating systems and partnerships.
In a regulatory landscape where closed platforms face growing scrutiny, Meta’s temporary opening isn’t just a concession, it’s a calculated pause, buying time to keep the conversation going while the competition knocks louder.
