iWorld
TiVo brings comprehensive personalised content discovery platform with voice search
MUMBAI: TiVo Corporation, a leader in entertainment technology and audience insights, has introduced its new fully-integrated Personalized Content Discovery platform. The new platform provides video operators with the most comprehensive suite of content discovery features that combine the power of TiVo’s renowned conversational voice search with personalized search and recommendations. The platform also features powerful analytics capabilities that enable operators to conduct A/B testing; thus, giving operators the ability to optimize their operations in real-time.
With fully-integrated conversational services, TiVo’s Personalized Content Discovery platform leverages voice search making it easy for a user to ask, “What’s on TV tonight?” and get highly-relevant personalized search results. Instead of bringing up the whole TV guide with 300+ channels, the response will highlight the top 10 television programs that the user is most likely to be interested in, based on their viewing behavior and interests. This integration is exceptionally crucial as more and more customers turn to voice search, with 30.5% of Amazon Echo, Dot or Google Home owners stating that they use voice assistants to help them find something to watch, according to TiVo’s most recent Video Trends Report.
TiVo’s Personalized Content Discovery platform also supports contextual voice queries, which allow users to easily narrow down results within a specific context, thus eliminating the need to string together extremely long queries with unnatural phrasing to achieve the same results. For example, if a user was to ask, “Find me movies with Tom Hanks,” after the initial search results are displayed, the user can simply say “only the comedies” to filter the results to find comedies starring Tom Hanks. In addition, the conversational search capability spans across all content catalogs available to the consumer, such as linear TV, video-on-demand (VOD) or over-the-top programming. As a result, the platform recognizes what the user is subscribed to and can be set to only return what is available to that specific user within their packages.
“For voice search and discovery to be truly effective, the user must be able to refine and explore through conversation,” said Colin Dixon, founder and chief analyst, nScreenMedia. “Solutions such as TiVo’s will be invaluable in helping operators deliver conversational discovery tools that allow their customers to more fully exploit the content that is available to them.”
TiVo’s Personalized Content Discovery platform has a fully integrated backend business console that provides management and real-time tuning of search results, allowing service providers to easily improve the user experience and generate more engagement from viewer searches. Operators can use rules to drive internal business objectives, such as boosting more VOD titles in voice searches to promote broader category awareness. Operators also benefit from a decreased cost in ownership, since they can quickly make real-time changes without requiring extra support from engineering teams.
“Thanks to our fully-integrated approach, service providers can provide their customers with the flexibility of conversational search, going beyond traditional keywords and delivering a truly personalized experience that also drives their own business objectives internally,” said Pratik Patel, director of product management, Advanced Search and Recommendations, TiVo. “In the past, it was an incredibly timely and labor-intensive process to update search results. Now, changes can be created almost instantaneously, generating stronger, more relevant results for viewers while improving overall customer loyalty and engagement.”
TiVo’s conversational services go beyond basic voice commands to make natural dialogue a reality. With TiVo’s Personalized Content Discovery platform, consumers can use their voice to search for digital entertainment across data spaces, including linear, VOD and over the top. By taking the content, user and situation into account, TiVo’s Personalized Content Discovery platform provides fast, highly accurate results and relevant guidance.
iWorld
Netflix cuts jobs in product division amid restructuring
Layoffs hit creative studio unit as leadership and strategy shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: The streaming wars may be fought on screen, but the latest plot twist is unfolding behind the scenes. Netflix has reportedly begun laying off several dozen employees from its product division as part of an internal reorganisation, according to a report by Variety. The cuts are believed to have primarily affected the company’s creative studio unit, which works on marketing assets such as in app trailers, promotional visuals and live experience content for the streaming platform.
The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.
According to the report, the layoffs were not tied to employee performance. Instead, the restructuring eliminated certain roles while other employees were reassigned to different teams within the organisation.
The roles affected are understood to include designers, producers and creative specialists responsible for marketing and brand experience initiatives.
The job cuts come as Netflix adjusts its leadership structure and reshapes its product and creative teams. Last month, Elizabeth Stone was promoted from chief technology officer to chief product and technology officer, giving her oversight of product, engineering and data operations across the company.
Earlier, in December 2025, Netflix also appointed Martin Rose as head of creative for global brand and partnerships, a move seen as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s brand and product functions.
Despite the layoffs, Netflix remains one of the largest employers in the streaming sector. The company is estimated to employ around 16,000 people globally, with roughly 70 percent of its workforce based in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the company reported approximately 13,000 employees, indicating that its headcount had grown significantly before the latest restructuring.
The workforce changes arrive at a time when Netflix is navigating a shifting financial and strategic landscape in the global entertainment industry.
The streaming giant recently secured $2.8 billion in additional cash after receiving a breakup fee from Paramount Skydance following its withdrawal from a deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Netflix co chief executive Ted Sarandos explained that the company had evaluated multiple scenarios during the negotiations but chose not to match the competing offer once it learned that a higher bid had been submitted.
Netflix had capped its offer at $27.75 per share and ultimately stepped back rather than pursue Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition deal, which included a personal guarantee.
Sarandos also cautioned that the financing structure behind the Paramount Skydance transaction could have ripple effects across the entertainment industry.
According to him, the debt heavy deal could trigger significant cost cutting, with David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, expected to eliminate about $16 billion in costs and potentially cut thousands of jobs as part of the integration process.
For Netflix, the current restructuring appears to be part of a broader attempt to streamline operations while continuing to invest in product, technology and global content even as the streaming industry enters a new phase of consolidation and financial discipline.
