iWorld
ALTbalaji & ZEE5 announce content alliance to grow the subscription video on demand business
National: With an aim to leverage each other’s strengths in the OTT domain, ZEE5 and ALTBalajihave collaborated to co-create original content which will only be available on both platforms.
The content sharing arrangement, includes co-creation of 60+ Original content series (in Hindi) which will be available exclusively to SVOD subscribers of both platforms. This association is a collaborative process of co-understanding consumer insights and co-marketing to serve the viewer better and resulting in improved monetisation for both.
ZEE5 and ALTBalaji have established their content strength globally, and the synergy will result in two of the largest homegrown video streaming platforms coming together to expand their subscription base and grow the binge-watching culture globally.
Mr. Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL said, “I truly cherish the bond between Balaji and ZEE, which has been nurtured and built over the last two decades. Together, we have created some path breaking content masterpieces which have truly entertained our esteemed audiences. I am most certain that this association will enable both the brands to re-create the magic, this time in the digital space.”
As per the association, ALTBalaji will maintain an exclusive partnership with ZEE5, in order to enhance its offering to the market, with a focused and strategic approach.
Commenting on this development Mrs. Shobha Kapoor, Managing Director, Balaji Telefilms said, “This collaboration strengthens the 25 yearold fruitful relationship between Zee Group and Balaji Telefilms, from Television content, to Movie Monetisation and now to Digital Video Streaming. It plays to each partner’s individual strength and the consumer is the ultimate winner. This partnership will result in Balaji Telefilms being profitable as an entity, thereby giving us an opportunity to scale up our business ambitions, creating value for all our stakeholders.”
In two years of commercial launch, ALTBalaji has one of the largest libraries of Hindi original and exclusive shows. It remains one of India’s favourite online destinations for truly engaging content. Shows such as The Test Case, Apharan, Home, Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, and Bose: Dead or Alive have won many accolades and has an ever-growing audience base that watches Indian shows across the globe.
Ms. Ekta Kapoor, Joint MD, Balaji Telefilms added, “As part of this partnership ZEE5 subscribers will get seamless access to ALTBalaji’s clutter breaking originals in addition to ZEE5 existing content. This partnership enables ALTBalaji to continue to scale up rapidly its content creation ambitions and focus on building the largest library of original exclusive shows in India. We hope that ALTBalaji and ZEE5 will set benchmarks in unique storytelling.”
Mr. TarunKatial, CEO, ZEE5 Indiaadded, “In the first year of going live, we, at ZEE5, have focussed on building a strong repository of content and this is evident in the 100,000+ hours of content that we have on the platform. Overtime, we have seen a steady increase in viewership of regional originalcontent and this partnershipwill be a great opportunity for our viewers to enjoy the best of both worlds – the one created by ALTBalaji and us.We believe, this will be a game-changer for both – the industry as well as the audiences. We are glad to initiate this trend where content creators can partner to bring the best immersive experience for the viewers.Thiscollaboration promises immense growth potential for both partners.”
In 2019 itself, ZEE5 has rolled out around 25 original shows across genres, and the platform is committed to launching 72+shows by March 2020. It has crossed 50 million gross downloads since launch on the Play Store and had 76.4million monthly active users globally in June 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.
