iWorld
US AVOD streamer Tubi racks up scorching growth pace
MUMBAI: To be or not to be?
Well, Tubi is. And it is growing stronger.
The American AVOD streaming video service – which is available in Canada and Australia and is set to launch in Mexico and the UK in 2020 – has reported jaw-dropping signups and consumption numbers for 2019. The company- headed by Farhad Massoudi – announced monthly active users of 25 million with total viewing or watch time (TVT or TWT) totting up to 163 million hours for the month of December 2019 alone. TVT overall exploded 160 per cent year over year (YOY), while for Canada and Australia it skyrocketed 357 per cent.
Recently, Tubi announced a partnership with one of the largest broadcasters in Mexico – TV Azteca – to provide Spanish language content, which includes their most popular series and advertising sales support. Tubi also announced a global deal with one of the world’s largest manufacturers of TVs – Hisense – to prominently include Tubi as part of their Vidaa platform.
In 2019, Tubi ratcheted up its headcount to over 229 full-time employees, an increase of 78 per cent versus 2018. The company will rapidly add more employees in the coming year as Tubi continues its expansion both domestically and internationally. It is all geared up to spend big dollars to acquire content beyond its 20,000 movies and TV series; the budget is expected to cross nine figures in 2020.
“Our growth over the last year is a clear testament to the success of our focused strategy in a now-cluttered marketplace,” said Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi. “We’re excited people globally have embraced Tubi as a complement to subscription video and aim to deliver an even larger library of premium content in 2020.”
https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/most-of-the-svod-businesses-are-not-going-to-be-viable-tubis-farhad-massoudi-200123
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
