iWorld
Pro Cricket League Season 1 announces Sony Liv as official streaming partner
Mumbai: The highly anticipated first season of the Pro Cricket League is set to take place from 18 October to 27 October 2024, at the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, and it has just been announced that Sony Liv will be the official streaming partner for the tournament. Featuring thrilling matches with international cricketing stars such as Thisara Perera, Pawan Negi, Phil Mustard, Dilshan Munaweera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manpreet Gony, Bipul Sharma, Robin Bist, Mahesh Rawat, Vikas Tokas, and Navin Stewart, this partnership promises to provide fans with a premier viewing experience.
Sony Liv will deliver exclusive live coverage, allowing cricket fans to enjoy the action from the comfort of their homes. Viewers will be able to stream every match live, capturing every ball, wicket, and boundary in real time.
Pro Cricket League commissioner Chetan Sharma voiced his excitement, saying, “We believe our tournament holds the potential to offer something new and exciting in terms of cricketing action. Our sincere appreciation goes out to Sony Liv for their invaluable role in elevating this competition.”
Pro Cricket League managing director & founder Sachin Gupta shared his enthusiasm for the partnership: “We are thrilled to partner with Sony Liv, a name synonymous with quality sports streaming in India. With our streaming partner’s vast reach, we are confident this season will be bigger and better than ever.”
Executive director Ganesh Sharma added, “This collaboration ensures live updates of the Pro Cricket League reach homes and devices across India and beyond, making it a staple for cricket enthusiasts. We also see this as an opportunity to showcase the electrifying action that the tournament will bring in the days ahead.”
Sony Liv’s wide reach and high-quality streaming service will ensure that the excitement of the Pro Cricket League extends globally, expanding its audience beyond traditional boundaries. Fans can expect a seamless viewing experience across multiple devices, ensuring they won’t miss a moment of the action.
With Sony Liv on board, the Pro Cricket League promises to be an unmissable event for all cricket fans.
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.
