iWorld
MX Player & Akamai partner to deliver seamless viewing experience
KOLKATA: MX Player has partnered with Akamai Technologies to provide its increasing user base in India with a seamless digital experience.
In 2020, MX Player was ranked by App Annie as the no.1 streaming app in India and the onset of the pandemic saw the platform witness not just a massive boost in viewership, but also new subscribers, and a newer audience. This accelerated growth heightened MX Player’s need for infrastructure that could support the scale and availability of the app across different networks and locations.
MX Player found Akamai’s world class media delivery solution to be the right choice in order to deliver a high-quality viewing experience to their customers across different cities. The enhancement in performance and user experience was particularly pronounced in the case of MX TakaTak, a popular short video platform, that has seen a rapid surge of users, with a large portion of them coming from tier-2 and tier-3 towns.
According to Redseer, online content consumption in India grew by 35 per cent in April 2020 compared to January 2020. It further stated that short-form video content consumption recorded the most significant jump during the lockdown.
MX Player COO Vivek Jain said, “In the last couple of months, our user base has increased exponentially. The demand to consume content on the go and the need for virtual entertainment amongst the middle, mass, mobile, millennial audience in India is growing faster than ever before. MX Player has seen more than 7X jump in time spent on the app. “
“Even MX TakaTak, which we recently launched, crossed one billion video views per day within a month from launch and has quickly become the market leading app in the short video category. We have always obsessed about best-in-class video load times. Akamai is a pioneer in Edge distribution and its presence particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 towns has helped us deliver an unmatched viewing experience for our customers across India’s mega cities as well as the hinterlands,” Jain added.
Akamai media and carrier section India sales head Mitesh Jain noted that unprecedented demand for content coupled with rapidly evolving user behaviour poses a challenge for apps trying to ensure high-quality viewing experience across a complex network topology.
“We are glad to have partnered with MX Player to help them scale the user base and step up to conform with user expectations of evolving Indian consumers. Given MX player’s ambition, I am sure that this is just a start and we will be accomplishing many more milestones together,” Jain said.
iWorld
Netflix launches Playground app to bring games and interactive play for kids
Interactive games, fresh series and returning favourites aim to blend play and learning
MUMBAI: Netflix is doubling down on kids entertainment with a major expansion of its family-friendly slate, anchored by the launch of Netflix Playground, a new interactive app designed to blend play with storytelling.
Aimed at children aged eight and under, the app allows young viewers to engage with familiar characters from shows like Peppa Pig and Sesame Street through games and activities, all within a safe, ad-free environment. The app is already live in select markets and is set for a wider global rollout later this month.
The move signals Netflix’s push to turn passive viewing into a more immersive experience. Alongside the app, the platform has unveiled a mix of new titles and returning favourites, including fresh episodes of Trash Truck and The Creature Cases, as well as a new preschool series, Young MacDonald. Popular titles such as CoComelon Lane and Ms. Rachel are also set to expand with new seasons and episodes.
Speaking about the strategy, Netflix vice president of animation series and kids and family tv John Derderian said, “We’re building a world where kids can not only watch their favourite stories, they can step inside them and interact with their favourite characters. We’re creating a seamless destination for discovery, learning, and play.”
The expanded offering also leans heavily on convenience for parents, with offline access, curated content, and robust parental controls designed to ensure a safe and tailored viewing experience. Features such as profile locks, content filters, and activity tracking aim to give families greater control while allowing children to explore independently.
The timing is strategic. Kids and preschool content has emerged as one of Netflix’s most-watched categories in recent years, making it a key battleground in the streaming wars. By combining games, education, and entertainment, the platform is looking to deepen engagement and build long-term loyalty among younger audiences.
With interactive play now joining its content arsenal, Netflix is not just streaming stories but inviting kids to step inside them, turning screen time into something a little more hands-on.
