iWorld
VROTT becomes the 26th app on Tata Play Binge
Mumbai: Getting bigger and better with each offering, Tata Play Binge has now extended efforts to bring global content much closer to home, by onboarding the rising OTT platform, VROTT. Known as ‘Global Ka Local’, the app promises to offer viewers specially curated global content in local languages like Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu along with the original language. VROTT becomes the OTT app no 26 to join the band of 25 other coveted apps on Tata Play Binge.
VROTT offers over 2000 hours of global content including exclusive films and series, across a vast range of genres like action, crime, mystery, thriller, horror, and dramas. The platform premieres new content in Indian languages every alternating Friday of the week. Their diverse content library has crime thrillers from the UK, Korean action dramas, Russian mafia thrillers, Hong Kong martial arts films, Turkish family dramas, Scandinavian series and features from all over Europe. Popular titles include Skins, Official Competition, Clique, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, You Keep The Kids, Wedding Unplanner, The Icebreaker, The Heavy Water War, Welcome to Texas S1, and more.
Commenting on the onboarding of a new partner app, Tata Play’s chief commercial and content officer, Pallavi Puri said, “We are happy to collaborate with VROTT to bring to our viewers a vast repository of high-octane shows from around the world. The appetite for foreign content has grown immensely in India, and platforms like VROTT, help viewers expand their palate by giving them a taste of variety content from across countries and cultures, in the language they understand. We are certain this will be a big draw for the Tata Play Binge viewers.”
“We are very excited to onboard and partner with Tata Play Binge. The appetite and palate of the Indian consumer has grown and evolved to encompass global content across various genres, blurring geographies significantly. High-quality storytelling and production has been the most sought-after and garners highest interest levels always. Through our partnership with Tata Play Binge, we are delighted to widen our reach to maximum homes and make VROTT available in native languages for a diverse and multilingual Indian audience.” Adding further he said, “All eyes will be on regional content to capture the next 100 million VOD subscribers. Along with Tata Play Binge, besides Metro cities VROTT will focus to capture the emerging interior B & C markets by adding Malayalam, Kannada, Bangla, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi languages as well” said VROTT MD and founder Manish Dutt.
VROTT will join the band of 25 other popular OTT platforms on Binge like Aha, Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5, MX Player, SonyLIV, ReelDrama, Voot Select, hoichoi, Planet Marathi, NammaFlix, Chaupal, SunNxt, Hungama Play, Eros Now, ShemarooMe, Voot Kids, manoramaMAX, Koode, Tarang Plus, Curiosity Stream, EPIC ON, ShortsTV, Travelxp and DocuBay. Content from all these platforms is available to viewers of Tata Play Binge through a single subscription and single user interface. Free gaming can also be accessed on the platform as another point of engagement. A bundled offering of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video plans have been made exclusively available for Tata Play DTH subscribers only. Viewers can enjoy all these 26 apps on large-screen connected devices through Tata Play Binge+ Android Set Top Box, Tata Play edition of the Amazon FireTV Stick, and www.TataplayBinge.com.
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.
