iWorld
More media deals on anvil says Discovery CEO David Zaslav, as streaming war intensifies
New Delhi: Emerging fresh from the blockbuster deal that led to Discovery’s merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia, company’s CEO David Zaslav said that media consolidation will only accelerate from here, and he intends to be a catalyst.
“We’re not done yet,” Zaslava told reporters on Tuesday, as he reached Sun Valley, Idaho to attend the annual Allen & Co. conference. “The talk of the week is going to be that the industry is going to start consolidating a little bit more.”
The streaming war is heating up this summer, with a slew of media mergers shaking up the global entertainment industry. In May, AT&T agreed to spin off its media operations with Discovery Inc in May, to create a new global entertainment and media business, named Warner Bros. Discovery to be led by Zaslav. The deal could close in eight months, though it may also take longer, he had earlier said.
Soon thereafter E-commerce giant Amazon announced its$8.45 billion deal to acquire the film and television company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to earn more big-spending Prime subscribers as it competes with Netflix and Disney Plus.
“We’re all vying for eyeballs and people’s time, and we’re all telling stories,” Bloomberg quoted Zaslav saying. “I think the Amazon deal with MGM is interesting. It reinforces that we need to be bigger.”
Zaslav’s key role in getting AT&T’s WarnerMedia to align itself with the network he leads has ensured that stays in charge of the company through at least the end of 2027. His previous employment contract effective till 2023, was extended this June.
The Sun Valley Conference, from 6 to 10 July, is attended every year by who’s who of the finance, tech and media worlds, holding deliberations on the key media trends. The annual media finance conference hosted and funded by private investment firm Allen and Company could not be held in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg; Disney chief executive Bob Chapek, Netflix co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos are other key names who are likely to attend the conference.
iWorld
What SMS letters G, T, S and P mean and how they help spot scams
Small alphabet tags on messages reveal whether texts are government or ads.
MUMBAI: Sometimes the smallest letter in a message can be the biggest clue. In an age where smartphone users receive dozens of alerts every day, the tiny alphabet appearing at the end of many SMS messages can reveal whether a text is official, transactional, service related or simply promotional. Understanding these tags can help users quickly identify legitimate messages and stay alert to potential scams.
Under telecom regulations in India, SMS senders are required to categorise messages based on their purpose. As a result, many texts end with a single letter that indicates the type of communication being sent.
If an SMS ends with the letter G, it typically means the message has been sent by a government authority. These alerts may include information about public services, government schemes, safety advisories or emergency notifications such as natural disaster warnings.
A message ending with the letter T signals a transactional SMS. These are usually sent by banks, financial institutions or digital services to confirm activities such as payments, account updates or one time passwords (OTPs).
The letter S represents a service related message. These notifications commonly come from companies and online platforms providing updates about services or orders. For instance, e commerce platforms like Amazon or Flipkart often send delivery updates and order confirmations that end with the letter S.
Meanwhile, SMS messages ending with the letter P are promotional in nature. These texts are typically marketing communications sent by businesses advertising products, offers or services such as education programmes, fashion sales or loan schemes.
Understanding these simple tags can also help users stay cautious about fraudulent messages. Cybersecurity experts note that scam messages often do not follow these regulated formats and may arrive without any category letter at the end.
While the absence of a tag does not automatically mean a message is fraudulent, it can serve as an early warning sign encouraging users to verify the source before clicking links or sharing personal information.
For those who wish to reduce marketing texts altogether, telecom operators also provide Do Not Disturb (DND) options.
Users of Jio can activate DND through the MyJio app by navigating to the menu, selecting settings and enabling the DND option with preferred filters.
Similarly, subscribers of Airtel and Vi can enable the same feature through their respective mobile apps to block promotional messages.
In a digital world flooded with alerts and notifications, recognising what a single letter means could make the difference between a harmless update and a potential scam.
