iWorld
NBCUniversal launches OTT platform hayu in India
Mumbai: NBCUniversal has launched its all-reality TV ad-free subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service in India called hayu. It has launched the direct-to-consumer (DTC) service on a full array of devices: mobile, tablet, laptop, connected TVs, and selected consoles.
Targeting the broad base of viewers who are fans of the reality genre, hayu offers over 8,000 episodes of top reality TV content including all seasons of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” from the very beginning to the final season, as well as its spin-offs – along with numerous other franchises, including the popular “The Real Housewives,” “Top Chef,” “Million Dollar Listing,” and “Family Karma.”
“hayu’s breadth of content uniquely super-serves reality fans. The service offers extensive choice, with a wide variety of unscripted sub-genres in the English language including home and design, dating, cooking, fashion, and true crime. Subscribers don’t have to worry about spoilers as the vast majority of US shows are available on hayu the same day as their US broadcast,” said the company in a statement.
“Given the immense popularity of reality TV in India, we are thrilled to be launching hayu in the country and we look forward to super-serving Indian viewers with the best-unscripted content has to offer,” said NBCUniversal managing director direct to consumer – global Hendrik McDermott. “hayu is already the premiere destination for must-watch reality TV in 27 other countries and will now deliver the same great service in India.”
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
