iWorld
Netflix powers the global rise of ad-supported streaming
California: Netflix is turbocharging the shift to ad-supported streaming. Usage of cheaper, advert-backed tiers climbed across major platforms between Q4 2024 and Q3 2025, with Netflix leading the charge and Prime Video the lone laggard, according to new data from Digital i.
Netflix recorded the fastest adoption. By Q3 2025, 40 per cent of active accounts across 20 markets were on its Standard with Ads plan, up from 26 per cent in Q4 2024—an increase of 14 percentage points in under a year. The bargain pitch is working: viewers are voting with their wallets, and advertisers are following the eyeballs.
Disney+ also leaned hard into ads. Its ad-supported tier rose from 35 per cent to 44 per cent of subscribers over the same period. HBO Max followed suit, climbing from 22 per cent to 28 per cent, signalling a broader industry pivot towards hybrid revenue models as subscription fatigue bites.
Prime Video still dominates the ad-supported universe, but its grip is loosening. Usage slipped from 88 per cent of subscribers in Q4 2024 to 82 per cent in Q3 2025, the only major platform to post a decline. Saturation, it seems, has limits.
The findings come from Digital i’s tracking across the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, Australia, South Korea and Japan, covering 20 markets in total. The trend is unmistakable: growth is coming from cheaper plans, not pricier bundles.
Streaming’s next act is clear. Ads are no longer a compromise—they are the growth engine. And as Netflix accelerates, rivals are running just to keep up.
iWorld
Talk to your telly: JioHotstar’s new AI voice feature reads your mood to suggest shows
The streaming giant ditches the scroll for a “conversational” AI that understands moods, cricket and Hinglish
MUMBAI: The era of the endless scroll may finally be over. JioHotstar has officially flicked the switch on its “Conversational Voice Discovery” (CVD) feature, a high-tech overhaul designed to turn the hunt for a Friday night film into a natural chat. Developed in a landmark partnership with OpenAI, the tool moves beyond clunky keyword searches, allowing users to find content by describing their mood, context or even the most bizarre viewing scenarios.
The feature is vision of Uday Shankar, vice chairman of JioStar, whose goal is to eliminate “content overload” by replacing the tedious, traditional scroll with natural dialogue. By leveraging ChatGPT’s ability to grasp context and cultural nuance, the new mobile interface allows users to bypass menus entirely, turning search into a seamless conversation.
The launch, which rolled out across India this month, sees a ChatGPT-powered interface integrated directly into the heart of the app. Instead of typing “action movie” into a sterile search bar, viewers can now speak to their devices as if they were asking a well-read friend for a tip. For now, the feature is exclusive to the mobile app, with a rollout for Connected TV (CTV) expected in later phases.
Beyond the keyword
The CVD feature is built on what JioStar calls “Multilingual Cognitive Search.” It is designed to interpret nuance rather than just matching text. If you tell the app, “I’ve had a long day, give me something mindless and funny,” it won’t just look for those words in a title; it will sift through 300,000 hours of library content to find a light-hearted sitcom or a stand-up special that fits the vibe.
The tech is natively multilingual, catering to India’s diverse linguistic landscape. Users can switch effortlessly between languages—asking for “Koi light-hearted comedy dikhao” (show me some light-hearted comedy) or requesting a “Thriller hai but zyada dark nahi chahiye” (a thriller that isn’t too dark).
Real-time curiosity and live sports
Perhaps the most ambitious aspect of the rollout is its integration with live sports. During a high-stakes cricket match, the AI acts as a digital companion. Fans can ask, “Who is the top scorer right now?” or “Show me that last wicket again,” and the system will pull the relevant data or clips instantly. It even attempts to explain the “why” behind the crowd’s energy, responding to prompts like, “Why is everyone reacting like that?” by contextualizing on-field events.
A shift in streaming strategy
The move is part of a broader reimagining of the entertainment experience following the massive merger between JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. Uday Shankar noted that the goal is to make premium entertainment “truly accessible” by embedding AI at the core of the user journey. By anticipating culture and context, the platform hopes to kill off “decision fatigue.”
For OpenAI, the partnership represents a major play in the Indian market. Fidji Simo, the head of applications at OpenAI, said the goal was to turn a “one-way” passive consumption experience into a “deeply personal conversation.”
As the feature goes live for millions of subscribers, the message from Bombay House is clear: the remote control is becoming obsolete. Whether you’re looking for a show that “feels like a rainy Sunday afternoon” or a crime series with a “strong female lead but not too violent,” all you have to do is ask.
