Applications
Flo TV to enhance its mobile TV service
MUMBAI: Flo TV, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, has announced at the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters (Nab) Show in Las Vegas that it is working to enhance its mobile TV service with new applications that integrate video with Web-based content and social media tools.
The expanded capabilities are in response to the ways in which consumers today are simultaneously viewing and interacting with content.
Flo TV president Bill Stone says, “With consumers’ mobile entertainment habits evolving rapidly, FLO TV will be integrating its current live linear video with relevant, on-demand content and interactive features that complement the programming viewers are watching in real-time. Our innovative, nationwide multicast network is at the heart of this solution and will allow us to distribute live mobile TV and rich mobile media services to a range of new devices – from smartbooks to e-readers and tablets.”
In addition to integrated experiences, Flo TV announced an expanded suite of mobile TV services, including interactive capabilities, pay-per-day and event passes, and time-shifted viewing options. The new features will be available on the Flo TV service across a range of mobile devices in the second half of the year.
New service applications will include:
• Interactive features that will enable users to interact with programming and advertising, allowing consumers to click for more information about a show or click to buy an advertised product.
• Pay-per-day passes designed to offer pay-as-you-go flexibility, providing consumers the ability to watch the FLO TV service without committing to a recurring monthly subscription. Event passes will provide an easy way for existing FLO TV subscribers to add premium content such as limited engagement, special events to their programming lineup.
• Time-shifted viewing, or ‘catch-up TV,’ that will allow popular shows to be stored on FLO-enabled mobile devices, thereby granting viewers the ability to watch their favorite shows on-demand, even outside of a coverage area.
At a time when mobile devices such as smartphones, e-readers and tablets are proliferating and data consumption is increasing, FLO TV’s nationwide network can alleviate cellular network congestion to meet the growing consumer demand for mobile media access across a wide range of devices.
The FLO TV service is currently available on multiple platforms, including mobile handsets and the recently launched Flo TV Personal Television, the first-ever portable digital television with a dedicated network. In collaboration with Audiovox, Flo TV also offers Flo TV Auto Entertainment, an in-vehicle entertainment system that delivers high-quality mobile TV.
Applications
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.
