iWorld
Netflix streamlines content team, Bela Bajaria to lead global TV
KOLKATA: Netflix has elevated Bela Bajaria as vice president global TV in order to streamline its content team. Cindy Holland, original content vice president quits as a part of the major shakeup at the organization. Holland has served for nearly two decades at the streaming giant.
Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 and she was given the mandate of unscripted programming and international content. Over the years, international content has been put at the heart of Netflix’s overall content strategy as the platform’s growth in the domestic market has become saturated.
While several executives have led the different segment of Netflix’s TV programming, the film division was streamlined in the past. “Since becoming co-CEO, I’ve wanted to simplify the way our content teams operate,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos explained.
"These kinds of changes are never easy, and I am enormously grateful to Cindy Holland for everything she has done over the last 18 years at Netflix — first licensing DVDs and then as the driving force behind our first eight years of English original series. Cindy’s been a great champion of creators and the power that comes from seeing more perspectives reflected on-screen — launching enduring dramas like Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, and The Crown. Most important of all she’s been a fabulous colleague. We wish her all the best for the future,” Sarandos commented on Holland’s departure.
According to reports, Bajaria was courted by NBCUniversal to oversee all entertainment programming across its several divisions. Now, she will oversee all original programming, scripted and non-scripted in both the English and non-English languages at Netflix.
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.
