iWorld
Chandan Das joins Mirchi as vice-president for business
MUMBAI: Mirchi has strengthened its commercial leadership with the appointment of Chandan Das as vice-president for business, bringing in a seasoned media sales executive with deep experience across television, digital and regional markets.
Das joins Mirchi after leading digital and TV revenue generation for the south at JioStar, where he was responsible for monetising marquee properties such as Bigg Boss, Hotstar originals, world TV premieres and network-wide inventories.
He was elevated to director in April this year, reflecting his growing remit across platforms and markets.
With over 14 years of experience, Das has built a reputation for scaling revenue, launching high-impact properties and building teams that blend sharp client insight with disciplined execution. His career includes more than a decade at Disney Star, where he held multiple leadership roles spanning the south, east and regional markets, managing portfolios ranging from Rs 60 crore to over Rs 250 crore.
At Disney Star, Das led ad sales for flagship general entertainment and movie channels, headed regional businesses and played a key role in driving growth across Hindi and regional networks. Earlier stints at HT Media and Info Edge further sharpened his grounding in client solutions and revenue-led strategy.
At Mirchi, Das is expected to focus on accelerating business growth, strengthening advertiser partnerships and unlocking new monetisation opportunities across radio, digital and integrated offerings.
As competition intensifies across audio and content platforms, Mirchi’s latest hire signals a clear intent: chase growth aggressively—and sell smarter.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
