iWorld
Instagram announces ‘Lite’ for Indian user
KOLKATA: At the first Facebook Fuel For India virtual event, Instagram said it is democratising expression for people in India. And to underscore its commitment, the photo and video sharing platform extended the testing of Instagram Lite to India, and announced the second edition of the ‘Born on Instagram’ creator program.
‘Facebook Fuel For India’ is being held to showcase the most impactful stories of change in India, and the way the Facebook family of apps are bringing together products, programs and plans to fuel India’s progress. Instagram showcased the slew of new features in the past few months that have either debuted or been beta-tested in the country, which includes Reels, the Reels tab and Live Rooms.
Now Instagram has made Instagram Lite available to people in India. The app is less than 2MB in size and is built to deliver the core Instagram experience to those who are currently not familiar with the app. It also brought back ‘Born on Instagram’ to equip the next generation of content creators with best practices to use the platform, and enable them with collaboration and mentorship opportunities.
Instagram VP product Vishal Shah said, “India is such an important country for us and has been a testing ground for innovation, thanks to the natural creativity and entrepreneurial spirit we see here. With the test of Instagram Lite, and the next edition of ‘Born on Instagram’, we’re aiming to democratise expression and creativity for a greater number of people in India. We’re also hoping to gain valuable insights before a global rollout of Instagram Lite.”
Early this year, there was research conducted in India to ascertain the attractiveness and comprehension of new products, and one barrier that was observed was the compromised internet experience, as a result of low memory phones and heavy-sized apps. This set the context for the test of Instagram Lite, and India is a primary test country for it.
The app is made for Android and this new version has improved speed, performance, and responsiveness. The experience is similar to the core Instagram app experience, though there are some features that are not currently supported such as Reels, Shopping and IGTV. The app will be available in Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.
iWorld
Veto onboards B4U Network channels to boost its entertainment offering
Partnership adds films, music and regional fare as platform sharpens its large-screen pitch
NEW DELHI: Veto is stacking its content deck. The family-first CTV-focused OTT platform has onboarded B4U Network, plugging in a slate of Bollywood, music and regional programming to widen its appeal in India’s living rooms.
The tie-up brings B4U Movies, B4U Music, B4U Kadak and Bhojpuri+ onto Veto, offering a broader mix of films, songs and vernacular content aimed at diverse audience cohorts. The move is designed to deepen engagement and nudge growth as competition in connected TV heats up.
Ritu Dhawan, managing director, Veto, framed the partnership as a scale play. “At Veto, our vision is to redefine large-screen entertainment for Indian households by creating a trusted, free, and unified viewing experience. Partnering with B4U Network strengthens our ability to offer deeply engaging and regionally relevant content, helping us connect more with audiences across India,” Dhawan said. “As we grow, our focus remains on delivering relevant, high-quality entertainment that families can enjoy together.”
The integration is expected to expand Veto’s audience base while improving content discovery and depth. The platform positions itself as a no-login, large-screen-first service, bundling live TV, news, sports, movies, music, podcasts and on-demand programming into a single interface tailored for connected TVs.
As streaming fragments and screens multiply, Veto is betting on aggregation and simplicity. More content, fewer clicks, broader reach—the pitch is clear, and the living room is the battleground.
