iWorld
Reddit Q4 revenue rises 70 per cent to $726 million, users hit 121.4 million
CALIFORNIA: Reddit is cashing in on conversation. The social-media firm beat forecasts, guided above expectations and unveiled a $1 billion share buyback, as artificial intelligence tools make its ad platform more potent and more attractive to marketers.
Fourth-quarter revenue surged 70 per cent year-on-year to $726 million, beating estimates of $665.4 million. Earnings per share hit $1.24, well ahead of the 94 cents analysts expected. The update, released alongside a bullish outlook, sent shares up 4 per cent in after-hours trade.
User and monetisation metrics were equally strong. Daily active unique visitors rose 19 per cent to 121.4 million in the quarter ended December 31. Global average revenue per user climbed 42 per cent, a sign that Reddit is extracting more dollars from its growing audience.
The company forecast first-quarter revenue of $595 million to $605 million, above analysts’ average estimate of $577.2 million, according to LSEG data. It also projected adjusted EBITDA of $210 million to $220 million, topping expectations of $202.9 million.
Reddit’s model rests on intent and context. Ads appear directly within subreddit discussion threads, letting brands reach tightly defined communities already discussing relevant topics. That promise is translating into higher spending.
The active advertiser base jumped more than 75 per cent in the fourth quarter, fuelled by new account additions across channels, says chief operating officer Jen Wong on a call with analysts.
AI is increasingly central to the pitch. Reddit’s ad stack now features an AI copywriter that produces platform-specific ad copy and an image auto-crop tool to quickly format creatives. The company is also rolling out AI-powered Max campaigns in beta, which automate campaigns by adjusting bids to hit target costs per result and dynamically selecting headlines and creatives. This move intensifies competition with Meta.
Growth is broad. Eleven of Reddit’s top 15 advertising verticals posted revenue growth of 50 per cent or more year-on-year. Retail, pharmaceuticals, financial services and technology led the charge.
Industry watchers see a virtuous cycle forming.
“Expectations were already high coming into the quarter, but the results still surprised by showing how tightly product momentum, advertiser demand, and user engagement are now reinforcing one another,” says Jeremy Goldman, senior director at Emarketer.
Add a maiden $1 billion share repurchase plan to the mix and the message is clear. Reddit is turning scale into sales and AI into advantage, and advertisers are following the money.
iWorld
Talk to your telly: JioHotstar’s new AI voice feature reads your mood to suggest shows
The streaming giant ditches the scroll for a “conversational” AI that understands moods, cricket and Hinglish
MUMBAI: The era of the endless scroll may finally be over. JioHotstar has officially flicked the switch on its “Conversational Voice Discovery” (CVD) feature, a high-tech overhaul designed to turn the hunt for a Friday night film into a natural chat. Developed in a landmark partnership with OpenAI, the tool moves beyond clunky keyword searches, allowing users to find content by describing their mood, context or even the most bizarre viewing scenarios.
The feature is vision of Uday Shankar, vice chairman of JioStar, whose goal is to eliminate “content overload” by replacing the tedious, traditional scroll with natural dialogue. By leveraging ChatGPT’s ability to grasp context and cultural nuance, the new mobile interface allows users to bypass menus entirely, turning search into a seamless conversation.
The launch, which rolled out across India this month, sees a ChatGPT-powered interface integrated directly into the heart of the app. Instead of typing “action movie” into a sterile search bar, viewers can now speak to their devices as if they were asking a well-read friend for a tip. For now, the feature is exclusive to the mobile app, with a rollout for Connected TV (CTV) expected in later phases.
Beyond the keyword
The CVD feature is built on what JioStar calls “Multilingual Cognitive Search.” It is designed to interpret nuance rather than just matching text. If you tell the app, “I’ve had a long day, give me something mindless and funny,” it won’t just look for those words in a title; it will sift through 300,000 hours of library content to find a light-hearted sitcom or a stand-up special that fits the vibe.
The tech is natively multilingual, catering to India’s diverse linguistic landscape. Users can switch effortlessly between languages—asking for “Koi light-hearted comedy dikhao” (show me some light-hearted comedy) or requesting a “Thriller hai but zyada dark nahi chahiye” (a thriller that isn’t too dark).
Real-time curiosity and live sports
Perhaps the most ambitious aspect of the rollout is its integration with live sports. During a high-stakes cricket match, the AI acts as a digital companion. Fans can ask, “Who is the top scorer right now?” or “Show me that last wicket again,” and the system will pull the relevant data or clips instantly. It even attempts to explain the “why” behind the crowd’s energy, responding to prompts like, “Why is everyone reacting like that?” by contextualizing on-field events.
A shift in streaming strategy
The move is part of a broader reimagining of the entertainment experience following the massive merger between JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. Uday Shankar noted that the goal is to make premium entertainment “truly accessible” by embedding AI at the core of the user journey. By anticipating culture and context, the platform hopes to kill off “decision fatigue.”
For OpenAI, the partnership represents a major play in the Indian market. Fidji Simo, the head of applications at OpenAI, said the goal was to turn a “one-way” passive consumption experience into a “deeply personal conversation.”
As the feature goes live for millions of subscribers, the message from Bombay House is clear: the remote control is becoming obsolete. Whether you’re looking for a show that “feels like a rainy Sunday afternoon” or a crime series with a “strong female lead but not too violent,” all you have to do is ask.
