iWorld
Balaji selects Xstream & Diagnal to power OTT service ALT Digital
MUMBAI: India’s TV and film production studio Balaji Telefilms has partnered with OTT solutions providers Xstream and Diagnal to power its new OTT entertainment service ALT, which is slated to launch in Q2-2016. The service will be available across connected devices, targeting young, connected and new age audiences.
Xstream’s cloud-based video management system, Xstream MediaMaker, will fuel ALT’s multiscreen solution, whereas Diagnal will be responsible for front-end design, development, big data solution and systems integration.
Announced in 2015, ALT is a part of the Balaji’s strategic intent to extend its creative expertise to the digital domain by developing on-demand, original and exclusive content for digital audiences globally.
“ALT Balaji wants its audience to enjoy compelling stories and does not want technology to be a stumbling block in their experience. We believe that technology is an enabler and if it’s invisible to the consumer then we have done a great job,” said ALT Digital Media COO Sunil Nair. “Xstream gives us world class solutions that are flexible allowing us to offer seamless smooth user experience in video playback. Their experience combined with the depth of knowledge of the Diagnal team has helped us very quickly build a fabulous platform.”
“Diagnal’s proven market expertise and product delivery capabilities combined with Xstream’s flexible and scalable platform, their impressive track record of managing high-end, customised Internet video services, proven technology and their ability to act as a solution partner, truly sets them apart from others and made them a natural partner and first choice for us. With Diagnal and Xstream we’ve gained partners who truly understand the complicated OTT ecosystem and we have built a future-proof solution. This enables us to continue to build a platform for our next generation OTT service on multiple devices that we can grow and develop with as we move forward in a speedily evolving market,” adds ALT Digital Media Entertainment head of product Ashish Bhansali.
Launching this summer, ALT will utilise Xstream MediaMaker and Diagnal’s robust technology services to offer the audience in India and abroad an enjoyable experience across various devices.
Xstream MediaMaker is designed to enable operators, broadcasters and content owners to seamlessly create, manage, deliver and monetise future- proof Internet TV solutions across regions and countries with multiple languages & currency on multiple devices- all with an easy and transparent workflow management- simplifying the complexity in Internet TV and allowing their customers to focus on their core business, not the complexity in OTT.
“As the pioneering studio in India, Balaji continues to propel the entertainment industry forward with innovation and quality content. We look forward to support their passion for creating quality content with our flexible, proven and scalable cloud- based OTT platform for delivery of multiscreen video solutions and other innovative and personalized services for engaging and delighting subscribers. ALT Balaji is a great example of a true innovator in Direct-to-consumer OTT services and we are delighted to be working together,” said Xstream CEO Simon Hoegsbro.
“We’re incredibly proud of what the partnership between ALT Balaji, Xstream and Diagnal has achieved in a short period of time – a world class OTT product that is suited to the content needs of the Indian market and is also a pleasure to use,” added Diagnal CEO Reuben Verghese.
The ALT Balaji solution by Xstream is fully cloud- based, using Amazon Web Services. Using AWS, Xstream is able to deliver unparalleled performance and durability to ensure a quality delivery to ALT Balaji subscribers. With EC2 Xstream have access to a perfect solution to operate API’s and customer facing services. S3 is used for robust storage of content and assets, which is then served using Cloudfront. Lastly RDS and Redshift are used databases for metadata and statistics. Xstream is proud to be an Amazon Web Services Advanced Technology Partner.
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.
