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Astro partners Irdeto for live streaming of FIFA WC
MUMBAI: Astro, the Malaysia-based cross-media broadcaster and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite pay-TV operator, has partnered with Irdeto, the firm which deals in securing and delivering premium content and digital assets.
Astro will use Irdeto’s content management solution to power the live streaming and on-demand broadband delivery of all 64 FIFA World Cup 2010 matches on the Astro B.yond Player.
Additionally, Irdeto will power mobile access to live matches via Astro sister company Maxis, offering exclusive streaming of all matches, replays and highlights.
“Astro understands platforms in terms of TV, radio, online and other media; we understand our customers and their surrounding communities, their diversity and their trends. At the same time, Astro is unique because we’ve had the privilege of starting operations and growing within Malaysia. We target ‘best in class’ partnerships and strive for integration within our partner roadmaps, leveraging our regional expertise,” said Astro CTO Paul Dale.
“We are happy to partner with them to take the World Cup experience far past traditional broadcast for Malaysians,” Dale added.
As Astro’s content hub for the ingestion, preparation and delivery of all World Cup matches to new media services, Irdeto is working with Akamai’s HD Network for live streaming in high definition and Microsoft Corp’s customised player experience with Microsoft Silverlight and Microsoft PlayReady for content protection, Irdeto is supporting the first regional deployment of Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Smooth Streaming, an adaptive bitrate technology that detects a consumer‘s broadband data transfer rate in real time and adjusts the quality of a video stream for an uninterrupted, unparalleled user experience.
The Akamai HD Network offers the largest video distribution capacity and global scale, and is optimised to help broadcasters increase audience engagement and expand revenues by complementing traditional mediums such as TV and DVD with the internet. In addition, Conviva is providing real-time audience monitoring, analytics and reporting and EVS is delivering on-demand broadcast highlights and clip packages.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
