Applications

For ‘networked generation’, internet central in media consumption

Published

20 years ago

August 12, 2006

MUMBAI: British media regulator Ofcom has just released its annual Communications Market Report revealing new trends in the television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications industries.

The key finding of the report is that there is a radical shift in media consumption happening, particularly among what it describes as a new ‘networked generation’.

This generation, comprising mainly 16-24 year olds, is turning away from television, radio and newspapers in favour of online services, including downloadable content – used on multiple devices such as iPods and mobile phones – and actively participating in online communities.

According to the report, television is of declining interest to many of this age group; on average they watch television for one hour less per day than the average television viewer. Of the television they do watch, an even smaller proportion of their time is spent viewing public service broadcasting channels, down from 74 per cent of total viewing among this age group in 2001 to 58 per cent today. Instead, the internet plays a central role in daily life; more than 70 per cent of 16-24 year old internet users use social networking websites (compared to 41 per cent of all UK internet users) and 37 per cent of 18-24 year olds have contributed to a blog or website message board (compared to 14 per cent of all UK internet users).

The same group also uses mobile phones extensively, on average making seven more calls and sending 42 more texts per week than the wider UK population.

Extensive use of the internet has also influenced 15-24 year olds’ consumption of other media. Their radio listening is lower, by an average of 15 minutes a day compared to the wider population; additionally, 27 per cent of those surveyed said they read newspapers less as a consequence of their online usage.

TELEVISION
In an important change in habits, viewers in Freeview households now spend more time watching digital-only channels than any one of the five main public service broadcasting channels BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and five. However, the public service broadcasters’ own digital-only channels (such as BBC3, ITV2 and More4) continue to grow their audience share, gaining nearly 6 percentage points of total viewing between 2001 and 2005.

Subscription revenue remains the largest source of funding for commercial television, with 2005 revenues up by 8.5% to ?3.9 billion for all pay TV services, ?343 million more than total net television advertising revenues for the same period. Overall, television industry revenues increased by 4% year on year to more than ?10.6 billion.

ONLINE
Online advertising continues to grow in importance as a mass marketing medium, attracting significant revenues away from other media.

Total online advertising revenues have increased almost eight-fold in real terms between 2001 and 2005 (from ?0.17 billion to ?1.3 billion per year). Online advertising revenue is now almost three times greater than radio advertising revenue (at around ?0.5 billion, unchanged since 2001 in real terms) and over one-third that of television advertising revenue (?3.8 billion in 2005, up from ?3.5 billion in 2001).

Broadband continues to demonstrate significant growth. Of the 11.1 million UK homes and small businesses with broadband connections, more than three million were cable and eight million were DSL – the latter up from five million in 2004. Industry revenues from broadband access were up 70% year on year to ?1.9 billion.

These trends are likely to continue as new technology and new products expand choice and availability. Unbundled local loop services – where competing providers take responsibility for the customer’s line to provide telephone, broadband, voice and television over the internet and video on demand services – are now available to 44% of the population, up from to 34% in 2005. The number of Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK also almost doubled over the year to June 2006, up from 8,500 to 14,600.

TELECOMS
Mobile phones play an increasingly important role in consumers’ daily lives. As many UK households now have a mobile phone as have a landline phone; and for the first time, the proportion of households relying on mobile phones exclusively (10%) is the same as the proportion who only use landline phones.

Mobiles are becoming the preferred means of making calls in many households, including those with both mobile and landline phones. Some 31% of consumers surveyed now consider their mobile to be their main telephone, up from 21% in 2004. For the first time, none of those surveyed said they relied on public payphones for their main means of making and receiving calls, compared to 2% of consumers surveyed in 2004.

Mobile industry revenues grew by 9.7% year on year to ?13.1 billion, while traditional landline revenue fell by 7.5% to ?10.1 billion.

Consumers are increasingly willing to switch phone companies; nearly 34% of consumers now use a phone company other than BT for some or all of their landline services. As of March 2006 6.1 million lines used a carrier pre-selection provider for their calls (up from 4.9 million in March 2005). Of these, 2.9 million were Wholesale Line Rental customers (up from 1 million in March 2005) who no longer have a billing relationship with BT but instead pay an alternative provider for both line rental and calls. Additionally 4.5 million consumers use cable networks for their phone services.

Ofcom Chief Operating Officer Ed Richards said: “Our research reveals dramatic and accelerating changes across all communications industries.”

“The sector is being transformed by greater competition, falling prices and the erosion of traditional revenues and audiences. A new generation of consumers is emerging for whom online is the lead medium and convergence is instinctive.”

Applications

Moltbook, the AI-only social network, sparks hype, doubt and fear

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Moltbook, a Reddit-style social platform built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents, has emerged as the latest obsession in Silicon Valley, drawing intense attention for its explosive growth and surreal bot-driven interactions.

The platform hosts more than 100 communities where AI agents post, argue and joke about topics ranging from governance theory to esoteric “crayfish debugging” concepts. Within days of launch, Moltbook recorded tens of thousands of posts, nearly 200,000 comments and more than 1 million human visitors observing the activity.

Yet the numbers and the autonomy are under scrutiny, as per media reports. A security researcher has suggested as many as 500,000 accounts may trace back to a single address, raising doubts about Moltbook’s membership claims. Many posts could also be the result of humans instructing their AI tools to publish content, rather than bots acting independently.

The platform runs on agentic AI, powered by an open-source tool called OpenClaw, formerly known as Moltbot. Unlike chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini, these agents are designed to perform tasks on users’ devices, from sending messages to managing calendars, with minimal human input. Once authorised, they can interact freely on Moltbook.

Some tech figures have hailed the platform as a glimpse of a post-human internet. Head of crypto custody firm BitGo Bill Lees, called it evidence that “we’re in the singularity”.

Academics are less convinced. Petar Radanliev, an AI and cybersecurity expert at the University of Oxford, said the idea of agents acting independently was “misleading”, describing Moltbook instead as automated coordination within human-set constraints. Columbia Business School assistant professor David Holtz, dismissed the spectacle as “thousands of bots yelling into the void and repeating themselves”.

Beyond hype, security worries loom large. ESET global cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore, warned that granting AI agents access to emails, private messages and files risks prioritising efficiency over privacy. Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey said high-level system access could lead to serious damage, from erased data to compromised company accounts.

Even OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger, has felt the darker side of attention, with scammers hijacking his old social media handles after the platform’s rebrand.

For now, Moltbook remains a strange digital zoo: part experiment, part spectacle, where AI agents banter about philosophy, productivity and, occasionally, their fondness for their human operators.

Applications

Apple appoints Avtar Ram Singh as head of international marketing

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Apple has handed a bigger global brief to a long-time insider. Avtar Ram Singh has taken over as head of international marketing for the App Store, Apple Arcade and the Apple Games app, deepening his remit across one of the company’s fastest-growing businesses.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as head of international marketing, App Store, Apple Arcade and Games App at Apple,” Singh said while announcing the move.

The promotion crowns nearly seven years at Apple, where Singh has led services marketing across Southeast Asia and India and previously served as head of marketing for Southeast Asia content and services, business lead for Apple Podcasts in the region and interim marketing lead for the App Store internationally.

His new portfolio spans three pillars of Apple’s services push. The App Store, which Apple positions as a safe and trusted discovery platform, now attracts more than 850 million average weekly users globally. Since 2008, developers have earned over $550 billion on the platform.

Apple Arcade, the company’s gaming subscription service, offers unlimited access to a catalogue ranging from brain teasers to big-name franchises. The recent addition of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition brings a AAA PC title to iPhone, iPad and Mac from 5 February.

Then there is the Apple Games app, unveiled at WWDC as a unified destination for games from the App Store and Arcade. It aggregates titles in one place, surfaces personalised recommendations, tracks events and achievements, and lets users compete with friends or connect controllers for a console-like experience.

Singh arrives with a hybrid background in strategy, data and creativity. His career spans digital and social media marketing, business intelligence, content, editorial and analytics across culturally diverse markets. He has worked on brands including P&G, Accor, Audi, UBS, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Pizza Hut, HBO and Singapore Airlines-linked businesses such as Scoot.

Before Apple, Singh led strategy at Falcon Agency, focusing on performance marketing and ROI-driven digital frameworks. He earlier ran the social practice at Publicis Singapore, where he oversaw operations, business development and regional social strategy for multinational clients. His career also includes roles at Ogilvy-linked Circus Social, Rocket Internet ventures Lazada and Zalora, and research firm IDC in Bangkok, where he analysed technology markets and won early awards for collaboration and client retention.

At Apple, he has been close to several service launches and expansions, including Apple Fitness+ in Singapore, Apple Creator Studio, global podcast subscriptions and new App Store marketing tools.

The timing is notable. Apple’s services business has posted record years, and gaming is becoming a sharper battleground as platforms chase engagement and recurring revenue. Singh’s brief sits at the intersection of content, community and commerce.

In a market where attention is scarce and loyalty scarcer, Apple is betting that sharper storytelling and smarter marketing can keep users inside its ecosystem. Singh now holds the megaphone. The real test will be how loudly the world listens.

Applications

Cloud nine in the capital Bharathcloud plugs Delhi into its AI plans

Published

1 month ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Bharathcloud is bringing its cloud closer to power. The Hyderabad-based sovereign AI cloud services provider has opened its Delhi office, marking its formal entry into North India and setting the stage for its next phase of growth.

The expansion comes as India’s digital transformation fuels rising demand for AI-ready cloud infrastructure, driven by wider adoption of artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things and data-heavy applications. With the new office, Bharathcloud plans to onboard more than 100 employees in 2026, strengthening its workforce to support customers across government, enterprises, MSMEs and social sectors.

The Delhi presence is expected to sharpen the company’s engagement with organisations seeking secure, scalable and cost-efficient cloud platforms that comply with India’s data sovereignty requirements. It also positions Bharathcloud closer to policy, public sector and enterprise decision-makers in the region.

Founded in Hyderabad, Bharathcloud offers AI-ready cloud infrastructure including Kubernetes-as-a-Service, zero-trust security architecture and multi-level data protection frameworks. Its platform supports AI and ML workloads, blockchain application migration from hyperscalers and distributed data management, with an emphasis on reliability, low latency and operational continuity.

“With the Delhi expansion, we are positioning Bharathcloud to engage more closely with AI-driven enterprises and technology hubs in North India,” said Bharathcloud co-founder Rahul Takallapally. He added that the move would help nurture local cloud and AI talent while accelerating the adoption of secure and resilient AI infrastructure across sectors.

The company currently operates in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Chennai, employing over 200 people and serving more than 1,500 clients across manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, IT and media. Aligned with national initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India, Bharathcloud continues to focus on building indigenous AI-cloud infrastructure to support data localisation and the country’s growing appetite for next-generation digital solutions.

With its Delhi office now live, the company is signalling a clear intent: to make sovereign, AI-ready cloud infrastructure not just an alternative, but a mainstream choice for India’s north as well as its tech capitals.