iWorld
ZEE5 launches ‘ZEE5 CLUB’ at Rs 365/year
KOLKATA: ZEE5 today announced the launch of ‘ZEE5 Club’, a unique proposition for every Indian at Rs 65/year. This is in line with its commitment to democratise access to bespoke content for diverse Indian audiences across genres, languages and a spectrum of devices.
ZEE5 Club, a complete OTT television entertainment pack is set to delight the consumers with exclusive access to most popular shows before telecast on TV, apart from select ZEE5 and Alt Balaji shows, – 1000+ blockbuster movies, ZEE Zindagishows and over 90+ Live TV channels. With ZEE5 Club, subscribers will be able to enjoy-engaging entertainment content without any intrusive ads and across devices.
Speaking about this new offering, ZEE5 India SVOD senior VP and head Rahul Maroli said, “We are a customer obsessed OTT platform and the launch of ZEE5 Club is a result of the feedback we received from our consumers. Furthermore, democratising access for all Indians to their favourite entertainment content, at a value price, was brewing as an idea for the longest time. With a strong consumer value proposition, ZEE5 Club will help us to board every Indian and provide them with a hyper-personalised and a seamless content viewing experience all at Rs 365/year.”
The launch of ZEE5 Club would enablemillions of Indianstosample their favourite TV shows and OTT exclusives at their convenience at an affordable price. The Club Pack has been created keeping in mind the platform’s diverse user behaviour, regional preferences and viewership patterns.
Some of Zee’s popular TV shows like KumumBhagya and KundaliBhagya in Hindi, Sembaruthi in Tamil, JotheJotheyaliin Kannada and MazyaNavryachiBayko in Marathi and many more would be now available on ZEE5 Clubbefore telecast on Television, making anytime a new prime time for consumers to catch up on their favourite shows.
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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.
