iWorld
StreamFest brings cheer for Netflix
KOLKATA: In a unique promotional gimmick, Netflix offered Indian audiences all of its content for free over a weekend last month. The move seems to have yielded fine results for the streaming service, as it has witnessed a sharp rise in app installs, open rate, daily active usage during that period, according to Kalagato.
After Netflix stopped offering a free monthly trial, the platform came up with this innovative marketing campaign to get more people to sample and subscribe to the service. On 5 and 6 December, non-users of Netflix could sign up with their name, email or phone number, and password and gain access to the content library without any payment. Following the overwhelming response, the streaming giant came back with round two on 9-11 December.
One of the most obvious impacts of this campaign by Netflix was an increase in app downloads during the promotion period, with the reach seeing a spike of 13 per cent during the weekend of 5-6 December, compared to average reach of the previous four weekends. Notably, the spike of 15 per cent was sharper on Sunday, compared to 10 per cent on Saturday. All other apps excluding SonyLiv and Wynk remained more or less consistent with previous weeks’ performance.
(Source: Kalagato)
Along with improved access, Netflix saw 243 per cent DAU jump during the weekend. Saturday saw a rise of 213 per cent whereas Sunday saw figures reaching 271 per cent over the previous four Sundays.
(Source: Kalagato)
This impressive uptick in activity on Netflix, however, did not have any discernible impact on the usage of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Twitter or YouTube. Among other OTT apps, Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video saw drops of 11 per cent and 17 per cent respectively. SonyLiv and Wynk Movies also saw significant spikes in DAU — to the tune of 127 per cent and 148 per cent respectively.
Open rates for Netflix saw a spike of 135 per cent on average compared to the previous four weekends, 128 per cent on Saturday, and 141 per cent on Sunday. Amazon and Disney+ Hotstar, on the other hand, witnessed drops of six-eight per cent in open rates during this period. Some of these apps also saw lower time spent on their platforms. According to the report, drops of 10-12 per cent were seen across OTT apps of Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, MX player, Vodafone Play and Voot. On the other hand, Netflix saw a rise of 18 per cent in time spent on Sunday.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
