iWorld
Kerala MSO Asianet launches regional OTT service
MUMBAI: This is for those folks who gorge on regional content – especially southern Indian language content. And can’t get enough of it.
Coming up is a mobile app or OTT service that offers them a 50 plus strong bouquet of select popular live TV channels in Malayalam, Tamil and other regional languages besides 100 internet radio channels. And it can be downloaded and played on both Android or iOs devices.
Called Asianet Mobile TV+, the OTT service has been launched by leading Kerala-based cable TV and broadband service provider in Kerala Asianet Satellite Communciations. It can be downloaded from the Google Play store or Apple App Store. Registration and activation can be done at http://asianetmobiletv.com.
The OTT platform’s bouquet consists of a mix of channels offering entertainment, news, travel, lifestyle and spiritual segments channels, company officials were reported as saying. The TV channels that are listed on its web site as being part of the subscription pack include: Asianet, ACV, Kairali, Sakhi, Janam, FlowersTV, Jeevan, Amrita, Kamudy, Kappa, People, Reporter, Shalom, Polimer, Captain TV, Kalaignar, Vasanth, Murasu, Enter10, Sankara, and Music India. Hungama, Pling, Box UK are some of the internet radio streaming channels that subscribers can sign on for.
On offer are various subscription packs ranging from two months to six months and a year. But it is giving away a month’s free subscription of TV and radio channels.
“It’s our endeavour to entertain the non-resident Malayalee community across the world with our bouquet of popular Malayalam channels. We have made use of the latest technology to enable our viewers to experience the best of Malayalam home entertainment, any time, any where and to access content across multiple platforms. We would shortly be extending our services to other Indian languages also. Additional features like Catch-up TV / Movies, TV Shows, video on demand and live events are being incorporated soon into our OTT service,” says the Asianet Mobile website.
The company claims it is the first MSO in the country to launch an OTT service. It has partnered with XperioLabs as the platform for the mobile app service. Its management says it is readying to offer value added services through its OTT play to transform itself into a lifestyle services provider.
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.
