iWorld
Netflix beats Comcast in market value
MUMBAI: Streaming giant Netflix, on its upward journey, has surpassed Comcast’s market value owing to a new record high of its stock price. Netflix’s market value stands closer to Disney now. While Netflix ended yesterday with a total market cap of $152.8 billion, Comcast ended with $147.15 billion.
Since the beginning of this year the company has been showing good financial performance. Its stock has been up 70 per cent since the beginning of 2018. Its Q1 2018 earnings report showed it making a net profit of $290 million.
Netflix has stuck a production deal with former US president and his family – the Obamas – which has led to a four per cent increase of its stock. On the other hand, Philadelphia-based cable TV conglomerate Comcast’s stock ended the day down around 2 per cent.
Meanwhile, Comcast has confirmed it is in advanced stages of preparing an offer for the businesses that Fox had agreed to sell to Disney. The former is gearing up to top Disney’s $52 billion (€44.4bn) offer for 21st Century Fox.
“Comcast Corporation confirms that it is considering, and is in advanced stages of preparing, an offer for the businesses that Fox has agreed to sell to Disney (which do not include the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcasting Company and certain other assets),” it said in a statement.
“Any offer for Fox would be all-cash and at a premium to the value of the current all-share offer from Disney. The structure and terms of any offer by Comcast, including with respect to both the spin-off of New Fox and the regulatory risk provisions and the related termination fee, would be at least as favourable to Fox shareholders as the Disney offer,” it added.
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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.
