iWorld
Tata Play Binge becomes a standalone OTT offering for Rs 59
Mumbai: Content distribution platform, Tata Play (formerly known as Tata Sky), has announced the expansion of its OTT entertainment app, Tata Play Binge, to all smartphone users, with no pre-requisite of needing a DTH subscription. Tata Play Binge, the application that aggregates content from across OTT platforms in India and presents it on a single screen, offers subscribers one of the largest collections of movies, TV series, web originals, and live sports from 17 streaming apps, along with gaming, under one roof. In an endeavour to ease the process of content discovery and reduce the hassle of multiple subscriptions, Tata Play Binge is introducing plans starting at Rs 59 per month and providing access to premium content across popular national, international, and regional apps as per subscribed plans. The platform will soon host 25 apps as eight more apps are slated to be added in the coming months.
The all-new Tata Play Binge offers content in 12 languages from popular OTT apps such as Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5, Voot Select, SonyLIV, MX Player, hoichoi, Namma flix, Chaupal, Planet Marathi, Sun NXT, Voot Kids, Eros Now, Hungama Play, ShemarooMe, EPICON, DocuBay & Curiosity Stream. Upcoming integrations include Apple TV+, Lionsgate Play, Travelxp, Shorts TV, Reeldrama, Manorama Max, Tarang Plus, Koode, and more. Tata Play DTH subscribers can access Netflix combo plans, and Amazon Prime Video can be accessed with an add-on subscription on Binge.
Tata Play MD & CEO Harit Nagpal said, “Today, in India, approximately 70+ OTT services cater to 450 million plus consumers with just 90 million paid subscriptions. The penetration at a subscriber level drops further as each consumer needs to subscribe to multiple OTT services. The biggest bottlenecks to the growth of OTT subscriptions are accessibility, availability, and affordability. With our aggregated OTT platform, Binge, we endeavour to address these pain points. Content from across 17 OTT providers plus gaming is available today to all subscribers, accessible through a unified interface with a single subscription package starting at Rs 59 a month. Tata Play Binge makes entertainment easy for consumers while increasing the subscription footprint for our OTTpartners.
“India is a value-conscious market and value is a derivative of both time and money. Just as Tata Play DTH has connected television viewers across the country to channels from multiple broadcasters, so will Tata Play Binge aggregate content from across OTTs for digital viewers across the country.”
Tata Play Binge app presents a freemium model, wherein anyone can install the Binge app and view and browse free content across partner OTT apps; and can also watch premium content behind paywalls by choosing subscription plans starting from Rs 59 per month. A single subscription will allow simultaneous viewing on two or more devices. Options such as “Universal Search,” “Language Preference,” and “Create Your Own Binge List” have been made prominent features of the app to create personalised experiences for consumers that reduce time spent navigating multiple platforms.
Tata Play continues its association with actors Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, R. Madhavan, and Priyamani, who have played relatable, everyday characters to bring out the essence of Tata Play Binge to larger audiences through the campaign, to make entertainment more jingalala. Covering multiple touchpoints, Tata Play Binge’s marketing campaign aims to reach out to potential customers across the country this festive season.
Tata Play chief communication officer Anurag Kumar said, “Through our campaign, “Bachcha Bachcha janta hai” we have created relatable, slice-of-life characters to bring out the essence of the Tata Play Binge offering, which is – access to all the content from 17 OTT apps covering movies, shows, live sports and more, under a unified platform- making entertainment consumption easy and simple.”
Rooted in its mission of providing entertainment on any budget, any screen, anytime and anywhere, Tata Play, through Binge, gives easy and simple access to a variety of OTT content, personalised for the consumer.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
