iWorld
Netflix inks major streaming deal with Steven Spielberg’s studio
New Delhi: Streaming giant Netflix Inc has clinched a major deal with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg for his Amblin Partners production company to supply multiple movies a year.
The new development has come as a shot in the arm for Netflix, at a time when the streaming war is heating up, with a host of competitors including Disney plus and Amazon Prime stepping up the game.
Known for his classics such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Schindler’s List, Spielberg will continue to direct and produce movies for Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures under a different agreement, reported Reuters.
“At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted (Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos) and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways,” Spielberg said in a statement. Amblin produces several movies apart from the ones that Spielberg directs himself.
Netflix operates the world’s largest streaming service with nearly 209 million subscribers worldwide. “By deepening our ties with Netflix via this new film partnership, we are building on what has for many years been an incredibly successful working relationship in both television and film,” Amblin Partners CEO Jeff Small stated.
Under the deal, Amblin is expected to produce at least two films a year for Netflix for an unspecified number of years. It is possible that Spielberg may even direct some of the projects. Netflix is expected to provide financing for some of these productions, reported Variety.
Recent Amblin projects included 2018 Oscar best picture winner Green Book and 2019 World War One drama – 1917 which won three Oscars and two Golden Globes. Both movies were distributed by Universal.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
