iWorld
Quibi hits 1.7 million downloads in its first week
MUMBAI: Short-form video streaming app Quibi has achieved 1.7 million downloads in its first week, says its boss Meg Whitman.
The app, launched on 6 April, streams clips 10 minutes or shorter.
The short videos, or quick-bite videos, are ideally suited for short breaks or commuting, the company advertised. The app streams shows that are 10 minutes or even shorter. Another feature of the app is that it streams movies that are broken into small segments.
The company is making efforts to make Quibi available on TVs. As of now, the app is available only on tablets and smartphones.
Whitman, in an interview with CNBC, feels that the COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted the launch.
"It turns out people have in-between moments at home. We don't actually think it hurt us," she said.
A few experts were skeptical of the short-video app. They were of the opinion that it would be difficult for Quibi to get users due to the COVID-19 lockdown. They thought that people who are cocooned at homes would prefer watching long-duration videos on bigger devices.
Quibi is now available as part of a 90-day free trial. While an ad-backed version is available in the US and Canada, an ad-free version has been made available in countries like Germany and the UK.
Quibi aims to compete with TV and OTTs like Netflix and social media video platforms such as Tiktok and YouTube.
iWorld
Tips Music CEO Hari Nair to step down
Girish Taurani and Sushant Dalmia to jointly steer the company as the hunt for a new chief begins
MUMBAI: A leadership shuffle is under way at Tips Music. Hari Nair, the company’s chief executive, will step down on April 30 as the music label begins the search for a successor.
The company said Girish Taurani, executive director, and Sushant Dalmia, chief financial officer, will jointly oversee operations during the transition while the board identifies a permanent replacement.
Nair joined Tips Music in 2023 and set about reshaping the veteran music label into a more digital, data-led enterprise. During his tenure, the company secured licensing and partnership deals with global platforms including Sony Music Publishing and TikTok, while renewing agreements with Warner Music Group.
Drawing on earlier experience in technology and entertainment, including a stint at ByteDance, Nair pushed the organisation towards a performance-driven culture. He built a brand partnerships division and introduced proprietary software systems aimed at strengthening digital distribution and data capabilities.
Kumar Taurani, chairman and managing director, credited Nair with embedding a data-led culture within the company and driving revenue growth in line with shareholder commitments.
In his resignation note, Nair said that after helping transition the label into a modern, digitally focused and process-driven organisation, the time had come to pursue his next leadership challenge.
The leadership change comes as the broader Tips Films group shows signs of financial stabilisation. In the third quarter of FY26 the company reported a net loss of Rs 2.86 crore, narrowing sharply from Rs 14.2 crore in the previous quarter. For the nine months ended December, losses stood at Rs 12.37 crore.
Yet revenue told a more volatile story. Income from operations slid to Rs 4 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 56 crore in the preceding quarter, taking total operating income to Rs 4.56 crore.
For a company built on a catalogue of more than 34,000 tracks and decades of Bollywood hits, the next chief will inherit both a digital engine and a volatile music market. The playlist may be familiar, but the next act at Tips Music is only just beginning.
