iWorld
Planet Marathi OTT unveils new content slate on achieving 500 per cent subscriber growth globally
Mumbai: Vistas Media Capital’s Planet Marathi OTT, home to record-breaking original content, is ready to step up its robust performance as it completes its one-year run.
The platform has seen a phenomenal spike of 500 per cent in its subscriber base, which spans globally across the UK, US, New Zealand, the continent of Africa and other countries. The first platform of its kind, it hosts web series, films, talk shows, music, reality shows, and other forms of entertainment in Marathi.
Since its inception in August 2021, the platform has seen a whopping 550K+ instals and 24+ million video plays. Various marquee and big league players, including Tata Play and Jio Ads, have collaborated with Planet Marathi OTT on various levels to capitalise on the robust, superlative library being the only exclusively Marathi OTT player. To increase its own reach and cater to a wider audience, the OTT platform has entered into partnerships and will be collaborating with telecom providers.
Emerging as a name to reckon with in the Marathi entertainment industry, Planet Marathi OTT has established itself as an innovative player given its fresh, experimental, and original approach to the web space. The upcoming impressive slate of titles includes Mrinal Kulkarni’s directorial venture “Sahela Re” starring her, Sumeet Raghavan, and Subodh Bhave; RaanBaazaar director Abhijit Panse’s next political outing Raaji-Naama; new age romantic drama, “Eka Hatacha Antar.” Other names in the content line-up include “Athang,” Soppa Nasta Kahi Season 2, Gemaadpanthi, Compass, Aamcha Aahe, Baby On Board, Chikatgunde Season 2 and Crypto Aajji.
Speaking about this record breaking milestone, Planet Marathi OTT founder Akshay Bardapurkar commented, “We have been fierce in our vertical and horizontal expansion and as we complete one year, the entire Planet Marathi OTT team is able to look back with pride and satisfaction on the kind of achievements we have had. However, we are far from done. We are excited to announce a large slate of OTT content which will further blur boundaries and catapult us to compete with big league content players. The goal gets bigger every year and we are just beginning to make a mark.”
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.
