iWorld
One Digital Entertainment crosses the 1200+ channel mark
MUMBAI One Digital Entertainment, known for managing digital video content and channels for some of the biggest creators in the country like Sanjeev Kapoor, Honey Singh, Badshah, Speed Records, Raftaar, Rannvijay, Anubhav Sinha, Tiger Shroff, Fever FM amongst others, recently crossed the 1200+ YouTube channels mark, further consolidating its position as the largest multi-channel network in the country. The company that started around three years ago today boasts of an undisputed 20 billion minutes of content that has been consumed on its network so far,
One Digital’s expansive presence ranges from music, entertainment, lifestyle, food, comedy and more. The company is also credited with identifying new talent and creating Internet sensations like Prajakta Koli, who has crossed 37,000 subscribers in less than 10 months on her channel Mostly Sane. The largest content network for YouTube in India and also distributes content across multiple other content publishers and partners. 2016 will also see One Digital foray more actively into original web programming with a line-up of 12 different formats to be launched.
Commenting on this success, One Digital Entertainment COO and CO founder Gurpreet Singh said, “Driving reach & viewership for online video has been a challenge for a lot of entities in this space but One Digital Entertainment has developed its secret sauce to ensure we are able to deliver each creator their due. We are also humbled by the support and the talent of our creators and channels and only look to make this business more meaningful for them”.
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
