iWorld
Sony LIV is now on BlackBerry smartphones
MUMBAI: After making its content available on various digital platforms, now Sony LIV, Multi Screen Media (MSM), has announced that its premium video-on-demand service will now be available as a free download on the BlackBerry World storefront for the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30 smartphones.
With the new app, the customers can enjoy over 18 years of rich and exclusive content from Sony’s stable, covering genres including drama, comedy, thriller, reality shows and many more on the Sony LIV platform – anytime and anywhere.
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Sony Entertainment Network EVP, new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani said: “At MSM, we want our rich content to be easily and conveniently available to users; our alliance with BlackBerry is another step in fulfilling our vision.”
Blackberry director, alliances and business development Annie Matthews said: “BlackBerry’s all-touch smartphones pack performance coupled with HD resolution displays, as well as and the ability to display content from the smartphone directly on an HDTV, giving customers a great platform for consuming video content on demand. We are pleased to have Sony LIV available for the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30 smartphones, offering customers access to another great channel of entertainment and rich content.”
BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30 smartphone customers can now catch all the action across the Sony spectrum including Sony Entertainment Television, Max, Sab, Mix, and a whole host of movies also in the pipeline.
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
