iWorld
Eros Now strikes a strategic partnership with BSNL
Mumbai: Eros International PLC (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a Global Indian Entertainment Company, announced today that Eros Now, its cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform has entered into a platform and content association with Indian state-owned telecommunications company – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). The association comes as an initiative to deliver high quality on-demand entertainment to BSNL consumers thus enhancing the reach of Eros Now paid subscribers across the rural parts of India.
The partnership between Eros Now and BSNL will further enhance the entertainment experience of BSNL’s post-paid as well as the pre-paid subscribers through their access to the Eros Now app including the vast library of over 11,000+ movies, digital originals, Eros Now Quickie, music videos and more. The alliance is a first for BSNL’s large pre-paid customer base to avail the services of an online video platform. The tie-up will allow all BSNL customers across all packs and tariffs to access the collection of Bollywood and Regional entertainment, on the go via the Eros Now app.
As per the recent report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), by 2020, half of the internet population in India will be from rural India as the internet penetration there is expected to grow to as much as 35%, thus driving Video OTT services to take off in rural India. Eros Now’s association with BSNL reiterates its own reach strategy in connecting with predominantly rural Tier II and III markets where the telecom service provider has a strong foothold.
Commenting on the partnership, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital, said, “As trends indicate, the OTT industry in India is expected to reach a size of $5 billion by 2023 with tier II, III and rural areas of India witnessing a sizeable increase in mobile penetration and data consumption. We are well poised to cater to this growing community and our alliance with BSNL is a step towards bridging the urban-rural gap and expanding our national reach”.
Mr. Anupam Shrivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL informed that keeping up to the commitment of offering great service at affordable price to BSNL subscribers, BSNL has taken this initiative of offering unlimited free viewing of video content on the Eros Now app. This service will be made available to BSNL subscribers by end of January 2019.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
