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Big jail violations: Diddy paid inmates of Brooklyn jail to use their phone accounts and directed family members to make social media posts to influence public opinion
Sean Diddy Combs is accused of violating prison rules by paying inmates to access their phone accounts and running social media campaigns from behind bars.
JioCinema business head Ferzad Palia to step down
Ferzad Palia, the Business Head of JioCinema, is stepping down from his position after a long tenure at Viacom18. Palia played a crucial role in JioCinema's growth, leading the platform to achieve 20 million paid subscribers and 250 million monthly active users. He will remain with the organization during a transition period to ensure a smooth handover.
The art and craft of earning in times of AI
India accounts for Adobe¡¯s largest employee base outside the US with 8,000 people in five campuses. ¡°Some of our teams are working on the Firefly model, others are operating our GPU (graphics processing unit) cluster while some of them are building services like the Adobe Illustrator,¡±said Alexandru Costin, vice president of GenAI at Adobe.
Why community-building is key to creator success today
Instagram's broadcast channels enable creators to share content directly with followers, reducing the stress of staying relevant. These channels foster deeper connections by allowing unfiltered interactions and catering to niche topics. Creators are realising the importance of building small, loyal communities that can follow them across platforms, increasing engagement and opportunity.
DoT tweaks procurement policy to promote local 5G gear production
The Department of Telecommunications added a clause in the public procurement policy to favor domestic companies in 5G technology product manufacturing. Local companies must achieve over 50% local value addition for procurement eligibility, promoting locally developed telecommunication technology under the 'Make in India' initiative.
Network18's Q2 net loss widens by 28% to Rs 152 crore amid continued investments
Network18 Media & Investments reported a 28% YoY increase in net loss for the quarter ending 30th September, reaching Rs 152 crore. Losses rose due to sustained investments in digital and sports by its entertainment subsidiary Viacom18. Additionally, Network18 has completed its merger with TV18 and E18, creating India's leading platform-agnostic news media network.
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Is Kamala Harris' campaign paying $700 a week to participate in protests? Here's what Trump is saying
Donald Trump has been known to often post unproven and baseless claims on his Truth Social handle and this time too, he has not hesitated to post a claim where it states that a MAGA supporters' nail stylist' cousin is being paid a whopping $700 every week to participate in protests against Donald Trump and root for Kamala Harris.
India on cusp of entertainment revolution driven by tech, diverse content: Kevin Vaz
India is on the brink of an entertainment revolution, driven by technology and evolving consumer behavior, says Kevin Vaz, CEO of Broadcast Entertainment at Viacom18. He highlights the growth potential in media consumption and the success of Viacom18's brands like Colors and Nickelodeon, emphasizing the importance of regional content and multi-screen experiences.
Digital company Pratilipi Plans IPO in 2026, aims to raise $12 mn in pre-IPO round
Digital storytelling platform Pratilipi aims for an IPO in January 2026, depending on market conditions. The company plans to raise $12 million in a pre-IPO round at a lower valuation. Pratilipi has achieved positive cash flow and is expanding its intellectual property rights across various formats, including web series and audio.
Next big threat for Hollywood and Netflix: Micro dramas from China
In China's booming micro drama industry, 69-year-old actor Zhu Jian stars in "Grandma's Moon," a series of minute-long episodes designed for mobile viewing, appealing primarily to middle-aged audiences. This $5 billion sector competes with traditional cinema by offering engaging, fast-paced narratives that reflect themes of social mobility and wealth, resonating with viewers amid economic challenges. Despite regulatory scrutiny over content, the genre thrives with quick production timelines and low budgets.
The long shot: exploring the rise of long form content in India's creator economy
Long-form video content is thriving in a world where bite-sized reels are gaining marketers¡¯ attention. ET explores how educators, podcasters, gamers, comedians and gadget experts are making it big. Creating long-form content requires time, energy and effort. It also needs investment in high-end filming equipment, long editing and voiceover hours, and an army of people to assemble the final piece.
DoT identifies & notifies products for revised, stricter public procurement norms
The Department of Telecommunications has identified 36 telecom products for revised public procurement norms, mandating over 50% local content. The new rules aim to boost local value addition and Make in India. Stakeholders can comment within 15 days. These norms apply to all government and state-run bodies, including projects funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund.
PIL in SC seeks autonomous body to regulate content on OTT, other digital platforms
A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking the establishment of an autonomous body to monitor and regulate content on OTT platforms in India. The plea highlights concerns over unregulated content, citing a Netflix series as an example. The petitioners urge the creation of a board to ensure proper oversight.
New perk for employees: Tinder dates cost will be paid by company
According to a report by The Strait Times, Whiteline Group, a marketing company located in Thailand, has implemented a novel policy offering employees paid "Tinder leaves" for dating purposes. This initiative is designed to boost employee well-being, as satisfied employees are likely to be more productive and develop a greater sense of loyalty.
Top streaming platforms in content hungry India
Apple has signed a content deal with Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel to capture a larger share of India's $28 billion entertainment market. Leading streaming platforms in India include Disney+Hotstar with a 26% market share, Amazon Prime Video with 23%, Netflix with 13%, ZEE5 with 11%, JioCinema with 7%, and Sony LIV with 4%.
Saregama to pay Rs 209 crore for remaining 48.2% of Pocket Aces
Saregama India acquired the remaining 48.2% of Pocket Aces Pictures for Rs 209 crore, raising the total investment to Rs 375 crore. This move aims to expand Saregama¡¯s presence in digital media, leveraging Pocket Aces' vast reach to popularize its extensive music library among the younger audience and create synergies in content creation and influencer management.
Telcos go slow on content spends; investment towards buying content falls 12% in FY24
In the last few years, telecom operators have been heavily focused on acquiring content from TV broadcasters, besides partnering with streaming platforms, to build stickiness and drive data consumption.
FAME Scheme Violation: Govt starts reinstating subsidies to EV makers that paid FAME penalties
The government reinstated subsidies for companies following stricter localization rules under EMPS, 2024. Revolt Motors and Greaves Electric Mobility paid back Rs 170 crore in penalties and awaited future sales subsidy approvals. The scheme received Rs 778 crore to support 5.61 lakh electric vehicles, aiming to boost the local EV industry.
Aatmanirbharta reloaded: India tightens public procurement norms
In a notable development aimed at bolstering India's electronics and technology sectors, the country has revised its public procurement regulations to emphasize local content exclusion for imported inputs. Under the new guidelines issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), items sourced locally through resellers, distributors, royalties, technical charges paid outside India, and supply of repackaged or refurbished goods will no longer be considered in the calculation of local content. This initiative is intended to further the Make in India initiative by promoting domestic manufacturing.
Changes in procurement norms: Imported items sourced locally excluded from local content calculation
The government has updated public procurement norms to prioritize companies using higher levels of local content in their products. Imported items sourced locally, royalties, and technical charges paid outside India will be excluded from the local content calculation. These changes aim to support the 'Make in India' initiative.
Meta content moderation vendors hit by global cyber outage
The social media giant experienced a SEV1 as a result of the disruptions, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, using Meta's term for a "code red"-style alert involving high-stakes problems with its systems that require urgent attention.
Multiple AI companies bypassing web standard to scrape publisher sites, licensing firm says
Perplexity likely bypassed web crawler blocks via the Robots Exclusion Protocol, as reported by Wired, using analytics to track AI traffic.
Darshan¡¯s rumoured girlfriend Pavithra Gowda admits she was the 1st to hit murder victim Renuka Swamy
During a search of Pavithra Gowda's three-story building, police found the clothes she wore on the day of murder. Pavithra lived on the top two floors and rented out the ground floor to another suspect, Pavan K. The three-hour search also covered Pavan's residence. Furthermore, police searched the homes of other suspects, such as Vinay in Pattanagere and Deepak in BEML Layout, RR Nagar.
Global audiences suspicious of AI-powered newsrooms, report finds
Newsrooms globally are working to address a new challenge with generative artificial intelligence, as tech giants and startups like Google and OpenAI build tools that can offer summaries of information and siphon traffic from news websites.
Money you paid for Gaza may be heading to Ghaziabad instead
Online scamsters are using the viral ¡®All Eyes on Rafah¡¯ campaign as an opportunity to dupe people who want to lend a helping hand or donate to victims of the war in Gaza. The most common scams related to Gaza include fake websites, fake cryptocurrency links, phishing emails, fake video links, and social media scams.
Anime Kingdom: OTTs step up investments to draw youth
Anime content is taking centre stage on over-the-top (OTT) platforms in India as streamers look to ape the traditional TV model of offering diverse content slate that caters to different age groups and demographics, amid the summer vacation for schools and colleges.
The YouTube Election: Social media emerges as key player in Indian polls
Dahiya can see people¡¯s enthusiasm reflected in the sudden surge in subscribers over the past month, along with better likes-to-views ratio and a higher number of comments on videos even when the content is critical and not celebratory.
With content king, creators trying hard to be kingmakers this Lok Sabha elections
Over the last few months, YouTube has been populated with videos of creators such as Ranveer Allahbadia (more popularly, BeerBiceps) chatting with senior leaders including S Jaishankar and Nitin Gadkari of the BJP, in addition to opposition leaders like Atishi Marlena and Raghav Chadha of AAP, and Supriya Sule from NCP(SP), among others.
Kill Joy: Licensing issues disrupt digital content consumption
Eight years ago, when global streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video arrived in India, they promised access to a vast and continuously expanding content library. The ¡°digital video-on-demand¡± branding created an unrealistic expectation that the content would be universally and permanently available. Over the years, snippets from popular international shows circulating on social media have only fuelled the craving for diverse content. ??Ironically, this very desire has now shattered the illusion of seamless access as licensing-led curbs increasingly constrain users trying to watch anything and everything in the cloud.
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