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CNN to deliver mobile news on demand in Sri Lanka
MUMBAI: Sri Lankan national mobile service provider Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel is to offer its customers access to CNN’s latest global news content through one call.
With a few clicks, Mobitel customers can watch CNN breaking news and the latest top stories, weather, business, entertainment, politics and more on an on-demand basis simply by dialing 555.
A key advantage of this service is uninterrupted content delivery when compared to web and WAP based streaming where delays can be experienced due to content being buffered. Mobitel customers can also enjoy the added convenience of replaying previous news stories within the same video portal.
Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel chairperson T. Leisha De Silva Chandrasena says, “The partnership with CNN International is yet another landmark development for Mobitel following its recent partnership with Google the leading global Internet company.”
A further significant advantage is the fact that no software or special configurations are required by customers to access the service. For the benefit of 2G phone users in particular, CNN’s latest global news can also be accessed via WAP by logging onto wap.mobitel.lk.
Turner International India VP, Deputy GM – distribution and business operations, South Asia Siddharth Jain said, “Sri Lanka is an important and exciting market for Turner International and CNN in the region. Partnering with a leading player like Sri Lanka, Telecom Mobitel certainly provides a national footprint for CNN International to reach out to a wide consumer base in Sri Lanka. It is a win-win initiative for the consumers as they get to know what’s happening around the world from the world’s leading global news network via the leading mobile platform of Sri Lanka.”
Since the launch of Sri Lanka’s first super 3.5G HSPA network, Mobitel has already added several other pioneering services such as Mobile TV (Live), Video on Demand, Video Sharing and Blogging to its existing portfolio of infotainment related services which consisted of SMS News Alerts, Voice portals (IVR services), WAP and SIM Menu Based Services. A key feature of most of these services is the providing of breaking news as well as information on a variety of segments such as sports, entertainment, business, politics and weather in a convenient and easily accessible manner.
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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.
