iWorld
“Our Audio Series content aligns perfectly with our listeners’ expectations”: Pocket FM’s Lalit Gangwar
Mumbai: In a world saturated with screens and noise, audio series has quietly carved a space for itself, offering an engaging form of storytelling that transcends the visual with better audience engagement.
Pocket FM is the audio series platform founded in 2018 by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS and Prateek Dixit. With over 100,000 hours of audio content, Pocket FM has consistently expanded its content diversity, with serialised fictional audio storytelling. The company has been aggressively focusing on building a universe of entertainment (including romance, horror, thriller, sci-fi, emotional drama, etc.) content. Building on this momentum, Pocket FM pioneered micropayments for content monetisation – a model that succeeded first time in the entertainment space.
As Pocket FM is redefining entertainment, we delve into the allure of audio series and spoke to Lalit Gangwar, Head of Global Growth, Pocket FM to explore and understand this modern renaissance.
Edited excerpts
On the audio series genre and the YoY growth not only for the industry but for Pocket FM
PocketFM has strategically centered its focus on fiction entertainment, recognizing it as a paramount market opportunity with a substantial total addressable market (TAM) and widespread adaptability. Our diverse content library encompasses various compelling genres, such as Romance, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, and more. Over the past four years, the leading figures in the industry have experienced remarkable growth, almost doubling or tripling their scale. Meanwhile, we are proud to share that our platform has achieved an exponential surge both in listener base and top-line revenue, showcasing unparalleled momentum and consumer traction.
On the monetization process
Our monetization model is built on a fundamental principle: delivering captivating entertainment content to our listeners, which, in turn, encourages them to willingly invest in their consumption experience. We offer two primary revenue-generating avenues: pay-per-view and ad-supported monetization, all within the freemium framework.
Under this freemium structure, listeners have the opportunity to access defined hours of free content daily. However, if they seek an uninterrupted binge-listening experience, they can unlock additional content by paying for one or more episodes.
The freemium model’s beauty lies in its ability to cater to both paying and non-paying listeners, ensuring our platform retains a broad audience of listeners. This solid product retention, in turn, facilitates exponential growth, enhancing the overall success of our platform.
On the vernacular market is growing, how have you strategised your offerings to reach out to our consumers across geographies and demographics
While Pocket FM has expanded to the global landscape, embracing regional languages and local dialects remains at the heart of our growth strategy. We have already established a significant presence across various Indian languages, in addition to English and Hindi. As we move forward, we are committed to expand Pocket FM’s reach across diverse geographies and demographics, furthering our mission to connect with a broader and more inclusive audience.
On Pocket FM becoming a global player
Our content strategy has always been driven by a backward approach, meticulously analysing audience preferences and resonances before formulating our content plan. By deeply understanding what captivates our audience, we ensure that our content aligns perfectly with their preferences and expectations.
While we prioritise catering to specific geographical regions, we also recognise that certain content possesses universal appeal, transcending cultural boundaries. Iconic examples like Squid Games and Game of Thrones serve as clear demonstrations of this phenomenon, as they have garnered immense popularity and admiration across diverse geographies.
Thus, while our content strategy emphasizes catering to specific regional tastes, we remain attuned to the potential for cross-cultural overlaps, leveraging universally appealing content to further enrich the entertainment experience for our global audience.
On the fragmented market of connected TV/OTT
Our primary objective in audience growth is to establish a widespread presence by creating numerous touch points. These touch points serve as distribution channels, enabling potential listeners to sample our content. Our growth strategy encompasses three core charters:
Organic Content Marketing: We strategically distribute our content through various organic channels, such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and blog posts. By leveraging these platforms, we aim to reach and engage with a broader audience, organically expanding our listener base.
Paid Channels: To target potential customers effectively, we employ paid advertising channels. By investing in these channels, we can reach specific demographics and regions, driving targeted growth and brand exposure.
Growth Partnerships: We actively seek out partnerships with apps, platforms and influencers that align with our target audience. These collaborations allow us to tap into the listener base of our partners, introducing our content to potential customers who may find it valuable and relevant.
On the trends of FM in India and globally
The fiction audio storytelling, as we call them audio series, has experienced a remarkable surge in demand and adaptability across all markets. Notably, we have surpassed 100 million installations and this serves as a significant validation of the immense potential within this category.
India holds a special place for us as it marks our initial launch and will continue to be one of our primary markets. It serves as a dynamic playground for us to create innovative content, refine our product offerings, and develop effective growth strategies.
With unwavering ambition, our goal is to ascend to become the largest global Audio OTT platform in the foreseeable future. We are confident that our current trajectory favours us to achieve this audacious objective. By leveraging our success in India and proven appetite among global audiences, we are poised for unprecedented growth and continued success.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
