iWorld
Dekkho expands regional language content offering
MUMBAI: Dekkho has partnered with some of the top online content creators in the country such as ScoopWhoop, Pinkvilla, 9X Media, Put Chutney, Being Indian and East India Comedy. In a bid to create an entirely alternate destination and divergence from YouTube and Facebook, and to increase its reach in tier II and III cities, Dekkho will expand its regional language content offerings through these collaborations in addition to mainstream content in English and Hindi.
Through a long-term content strategy, Dekkho aims to reach 100 million users over the next five years, focussing on the vernacular segment of viewers who do not consume videos on Facebook or YouTube. It will also venture into content translation, dubbing, and voiceover of content for this segment, creating a new, non-overlapping market for creators. Additionally, Dekkho will localise its UI for different markets as well as the newsfeed for regional content.
Commenting on its strategy, Tanay Desai, co-founder, said, “Dekkho’s initial strategy, which focussed on young urban viewers, has helped us carve a niche in the online entertainment market. Our next phase of expansion is targetted at a much larger viewer base that resides in the smaller towns, highlighting our larger focus at becoming a default social video network for the masses. Unlike incumbent platforms like Facebook and YouTube, which are highly fragmented in terms of content, we want to position Dekkho as a hyper-local, curated video platform. This will be supplemented by an engaging social layer aiming to represent India’s first large-scale video network. To effect, the platform will have a unique, localised avatar for each region and leverage the rising digital penetration across tier II and III towns in India.”
Around 65 per cent of users on Dekkho belong to tier II and III cities. Around 30 per cent of these users have been acquired through focused regional marketing and do not consume videos on YouTube. As part of its marketing strategy, Dekkho has tied up with leading telecom operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to offer greater exposure to content developed by independent creators. Users streaming videos through Jio Internet subscriptions constitute nearly 30% of the total video consumption on the platform, contributing significantly to the growth among this demographic.
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iWorld
Meta signs multiyear AI deal with News Corp
Agreement worth up to $50 million annually covers WSJ, New York Post and UK titles.
MUMBAI: Meta just bought itself a front-row seat to the newsroom because when AI needs facts, even Zuckerberg is willing to pay the subscription fee. Meta Platforms has signed a multiyear artificial intelligence content licensing agreement with News Corp that could be worth up to $50 million (£39 million) a year, The Wall Street Journal reported on 25 February 2026. The deal, expected to run for at least three years, grants Meta access to News Corp’s US and UK content including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post for training AI models and powering real-time information retrieval in its products.
Australian mastheads such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun are not included. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson revealed the arrangement during a Morgan Stanley technology conference in San Francisco, describing news organisations as a vital “input company” in the AI ecosystem. “We’re essentially an input company,” he said. “The great threat in the age of AI is going to be to what you might call output companies.”
Thomson emphasised the value of reliable journalism as foundational infrastructure for AI systems, noting regular conversations with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Whatsapp and ongoing talks with OpenAI’s Sam Altman. He added that News Corp is in “advanced stage” negotiations for additional deals, promising further announcements soon.
The agreement follows News Corp’s 2024 five-year partnership with OpenAI (reportedly worth more than $250 million) and reflects Meta’s broader push to secure content licences. The company has already confirmed deals with People Inc, USA Today, CNN and Fox News, though financial terms remain undisclosed.
Publishers remain divided, some pursue partnerships for revenue, while others litigate. News Corp subsidiaries have sued Perplexity over copyright infringement, The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, yet the same NYT struck a separate AI licensing deal with Amazon reportedly worth $20–25 million annually.
Thomson summed up the dual strategy as “woo or sue” seeking commercial agreements where possible, legal action when content is used without permission.
In an AI race where data is oxygen, Meta isn’t just training models, it’s buying the raw material for tomorrow’s answers, one headline at a time.
