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Tag: India

  • Amazon Prime Video rates cheapest in India

    Amazon Prime Video rates cheapest in India

    MUMBAI: A recent study has found online streaming platform Amazon Prime Video is the cheapest in India. On the contrary, the service is most expensive in its home country United States. In a study by technology research firm Comparitech Ltd, India has been found as the cheapest place to watch Amazon Prime Video among 28 countries.

    “If we compare the overall cost per month of Amazon Prime Video around the world, India is by far the cheapest place to get it. At a cost of just $1.76 (£1.37) per month, it’s $11.23 or £4.62 cheaper than the US or UK, respectively,” the study said. Amazon Prime Video is 115 per cent cheaper in India than the average with a library of 2,351 titles, including movies, shows and documentaries.

    Japan, Brazil, Australia and Mexico follow India successively in the cheapest list. Indians can enjoy the service at Rs 129 while in US it costs $12.99.The annual membership plan comes at a discounted price of Rs 999 besides a free one-month trial. Moreover, telco players like Vodafone, Airtel also offer free Prime subscription under certain deals.

    Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK follow the US in the list of most expensive countries to get Amazon Prime Video. However, the report says Americans, along with paying the highest amount, also get to watch the most number of movies and TV shows on the over-the-top platform. In India, the platform’s library consists of close to 2,000 movies and about 400 shows.

    The study also found that Indian subscribers to Amazon Prime Video also pay one of the lowest rates per title, 137 per cent less than the worldwide average on a per title basis.

  • Narcos: Mexico comes to India

    Narcos: Mexico comes to India

    MUMBAI: Michael Peña and Diego Luna, starring in the Netflix Original series ‘Narcos: Mexico’, along with showrunner Eric Newman, landed in Mumbai on Saturday night and have been busy exploring the maximum city!

    They have had a busy time with exploring the local  food pallet of the city which included coconut water in the by lanes of Matunga, meals at The Bombay Canteen and Trishna, exploring the rich Mumbai cultural explosion through the streets in the Kala Ghoda, Fort and Colaba. They visited the iconic Taj Mahal Palace to marvel at the magnanimous Gateway of India, while enjoying a piping hot glass of the famous Mumbai cutting chai.

    To welcome the stars in Mumbai, Netflix hosted them at Olive Bar and Kitchen in Bandra for an intimate Sunday evening attended by several Indian film makers including Zoya Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Vishal Bharadwaj, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Abhishek Chaubey, Anvita Dutt, Raja Menon, Anand Tiwari, Leena Yadav and Reema Kagti, and the team from Sacred Games – Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, showrunner Vikramaditya Motwane, directors Anurag Kashyap and Neeraj Ghaywan and writer Varun Grover.

  • BBC LAUNCHES HUGE NEW INTERNATIONAL ANTI-DISINFORMATION INITIATIVE

    BBC LAUNCHES HUGE NEW INTERNATIONAL ANTI-DISINFORMATION INITIATIVE

    mumbai: The BBC will be launching the Beyond Fake News project on 12th November with the release of findings from original BBC research into how and why disinformation is shared. Around the globe, disinformation has been seen to cause social and political harm, with people having less trust in the news, or in some cases being subjected to violence or death as a result. The BBC’s Beyond Fake News project aims to fight back with a major focus on global media literacy, panel debates in India and Kenya, hackathons exploring tech solutions and a special season of programming across the BBC’s networks in Africa, India, Asia Pacific, Europe, the USA and Central America. The research to be released publicly on 12th November comes after users gave the BBC unprecedented access to their encrypted messaging apps in India, Kenya, and Nigeria.

    The Beyond Fake News media literacy programme has already begun delivering workshops in India and Kenya. It draws on the BBC’s pioneering work to tackle disinformation in the UK, where digital literacy workshops have also been delivered to schools across the country.   

    Jamie Angus, Director of the BBC World Service Group, says: “In 2018 I pledged that the BBC World Service Group  would move beyond just talking about the global ‘fake news’ threat, and take concrete steps to address it. Poor standards of global media literacy, and the ease with which malicious content can spread unchecked on digital platforms mean there’s never been a greater need for trustworthy news providers to take proactive steps. We have put our money where our mouth is and invested in real action on the ground in India and in Africa. From funding in-depth research into sharing behaviours online, to rolling out media literacy workshops globally, and by pledging to bring BBC Reality Check to some of the world’s most important upcoming elections, this year we’re carving our path as a leading global voice for spotting the problems, and setting out ambitious solutions.”

    The Beyond Fake News Season

    Fake or real, truth or lie, transparent or deliberately misleading – how can you tell the difference? And what can you do about it to help build trust?  These are the problems the BBC explores in the Beyond Fake News season. This season will include Fake Me, a documentary revealing how far young people will go in pursuit of social media perfection, as well as the in-depth story of what happened when WhatsApp turned one Indian village into a lynch mob. There will also be reports on Russia’s disinformation campaign, how Facebook is being exploited in the Philippines to spread false information, and a debate with the world’s big four tech firms on what role they play in stemming the spread of ‘fake news’.  The season brings stories from across the world on TV, radio and online drawing on the expertise of the BBC’s international network of journalists.

    Programmes & Documentaries

    Global: From Delhi, 12th – 15th November

    Matthew Amroliwala takes BBC World News’ Global on the road through India, exploring what happens in a world where fake news goes viral, and trust is the victim. He’ll be talking to tech giants, politicians, school children and Bollywood actors.

    BBC World News

    Beyond Fake News – Tech Giants, 12th & 17th, 18th November

    The tech giants Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Google are brought together to discuss the fake news crisis and the roles their platforms play in the problem, and the solution. Matthew Amroliwala hosts.

    BBC World News

    The She Word: Fake Me, 10th November 

    From Insta-face to jeeps and bling to full-on faking it, millennials in Africa are living on “likes” as the social media world expands, sometimes going to extreme lengths to clock up the clicks. Using the Instagram look, the content, the followers and the tech to transform her online profile, we challenge one Kenyan student, a 21 year old social media ‘virgin’, to go from private to public, and see if she can fake it – in just five days.

    BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News, BBC World Service TV, BBC.com

    BBC Click: Kosovo’s Fake News Factories, 10th November

    Eighteen months ago Kosovo's fake news factories were running at full steam – fuelled by the country's excellent connectivity and its young tech-savvy population with few other job opportunities. Since then, Facebook has been aggressively targeting such operations. We go back to see how successful this crackdown has been and how the fake news game has changed.

    BBC World News

    Features

    “Deepfake” video manipulation, 14th November 

    When you’re not always seeing what you think you are – Matthew Amroliwala picks up new languages the easy way, but not without a little help from “Deepfake” software programmes that turn fiction into reality, making ‘fake video’. This technology could present opportunity for but also dangers – BBC Click look into this for BBC World News.

    BBC World News – preview available on request

    Explainer: Why a Fake News story spreads, 12th November 

    How does fake news get onto your feed? Zoe Kleinman explores how fake news goes viral, the role of social network algorithms in its spread and how automated bots push false stories to millions. How easily are legitimate publishers tricked into repeating false news, and why are we the public so willing to share stories we see on social media?

    BBC World News, BBC.com

    Special Reports

    India/Asia Pacific

    An interactive data project mapping the violence fuelled by false rumours in India

    From the BBC India team in Delhi, we have scraped hundreds of newspapers to compile data on violence and lynchings driven by social media and messaging apps in India.

    BBC.com

    What happened when WhatsApp turned one Indian village into a lynch mob, 12th November  

    The story of Nilotpal and Abhishek. Mini-documentary on two men lynched after rumours on WhatsApp suggested they were child abductors.

    BBC World News, BBC.com

    The people behind the spread of fake news in India, 12th November
    The BBC’s Vineet Khare meets some of the people behind the Facebook pages and websites accused of spreading fake news across India.

    BBC World News, BBC World Service TV

    Thailand’s victims of fake news “law”, 13th November

    Four years after the military coup, Thailand may return to democracy with an election next year. But political activity is still limited and critics are being increasingly threatened with cyber security laws that often use the "fake news" crutch and carry prison sentences. For the BBC's Beyond Fake News season, our South Asia correspondent Jonathan Head meets people who are facing legal threats for speaking out against the military government.

    BBC World News, BBC World Service Radio, BBC.com

    Fake news and the Philippines, 12th November

    Howard Johnson travels to the remote archipelago of Batanes to understand how supporters of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos have been exploiting Facebook to spread fake news and help his family stage a political comeback.

    BBC World News, BBC.com

    Africa

    Somalia: Media freedom under attack, 12th November 

    Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist and media outlets are being closed down for publishing information, or what their critics call ‘fake news.’ As part of our Beyond Fake News season, Fergal Keane reports on the fallout.

    BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News, BBC World Service TV, BBC.com, UK networks

    BBC Africa Eye – new investigation, 13th November

    BBC Africa Eye will broadcast its latest investigation.

    On BBC Africa TV, BBC.com

    Russia/Europe

    Debunking Russia’s ‘information noise’ operations, 12th November

    A lab in Tbilisi has been using untested lethal drugs to experiment on Georgian citizens, the Russian Defence Ministry announced last month. But the claims were false – aimed at distracting attention away from Moscow's involvement in the Skripal poisoning and embarrassing revelations about a failed Russian cyber-attack on the global chemical weapons watchdog (OPCW) in the Hague. Steve Rosenberg visits the lab for our Beyond Fake News season, and looks at how Russia uses fake news to spread disinformation.

    BBC World News, BBC World Service Radio, BBC.com & domestic BBC outlets

    Middle East

    How a fake news law is being used to crack down on dissent in Egypt, 14th November

    Five months ago, Egyptian actress Amal Fathy logged on to Facebook and posted a video alleging that she had been assaulted by Cairo police officers. Two days later she was in jail, accused of “spreading false news”. Fathy, who was later sentenced to two years in prison, is the latest in a growing list of Egyptian dissidents prosecuted under the government’s new fake news laws. Sally Nabil looks at the effect of the crackdown and how US rhetoric around fake news is being abused as a powerful tool of repression abroad.

    BBC World News, BBC.com

    USA/Americas

    Mexico lynchings report, 12th November

    Two innocent men are pulled from a jail house by a mob and burned in the street after WhatsApp rumours warning of child abductors – a report on how fake news can grip a small town where violent crime goes unpunished.

    BBC World News, BBC World Service Radio, BBC Mundo, BBC.com

    Also showing as part of the season:

    “Operation Infektion”, 11th November

    Operation Infektion, by the New York Times, is an enthralling history of fake news, or what the KGB used to call, “active measures.” With testimony from former Russian spies and US officials, the film deconstructs some of the most successful “fake news” operations of recent times, from the 1980s lie that Aids was created by the CIA, to the so called pizzagate conspiracy during the last Presidential election. This is disinformation warfare laid bare.

    BBC World News

    From Our Own Correspondent, 12th November

    From Our Own Correspondent will be bringing its mix of stories, insight and analysis to Delhi for a special edition of the programme presented by Anu Anand. Reporters in the region will reflect on what’s real and what’s not.  

    BBC World Service Radio

    BBC World Questions: Delhi, 14th November

    BBC World Questions will host a debate in Delhi allowing the public audience the chance to put their questions directly to a panel of politicians and opinion formers. With support from the British Council, the programme visits a different city around the world each month, and provides a public forum for open debate and an opportunity to explore claim and counter claim in front of an audience.  

    BBC World Service Radio

    Why Factor:  The Fact Checkers, 12th November

    Sandra Kanthal will speak with fact checkers from Turkey, the Philippines and Brazil to find out what motivates them to combat fake news, especially in countries where speaking truth to power comes with considerable risk.   How do they do this difficult job, and why are they so determined to improve the skills all of us can use to call out false claims? 

    BBC World Service Radio

  • EPIC TV INTRODUCES ‘HIT THE ROAD’- A TRAVEL SERIES WITH A TWIST

    EPIC TV INTRODUCES ‘HIT THE ROAD’- A TRAVEL SERIES WITH A TWIST

    MUMBAI: This November, EPIC channel has planned an unusual treat for its viewers with a new show; ‘Hit The Road, India’; and will air from 7th November, 2018 every Wednesday at 10 pm only on EPIC Channel.

    Hit The Road, India is a 4-part series and follows two friends who participate in an audacious 12 day rickshaw rally across India; from Mumbai to Chennai. Hit The Road, India escapade has been recognized by the prestigious travel outlet Lonely Planet as one of the top-10 greatest adventures. Hit The Road entertains through a string of events packed with escapades, music, lifestyle, and all the adrenaline innate in travel.

    American Ric Gazarian and Canadian Keith King, captivated by the sub-culture of rallies that take place around the world, sign up for the Rickshaw Challenge in India. The challenge takes them on a 1900-kilometer journey as they ride the three-wheeler so ubiquitous in India across hills, beaches, valleys, dirt tracks, and countless incredible surprises during this incredible journey. The short-series is another distinct feather in the brimming cap of EPIC travel shows including Wilderness Days, Road Less Travelled, Indipedia, Ekaant, Sanrachna, and Kahi Suni that showcase India in ways never before attempted.

    Speaking on the launch of the new show, Akul Tripathi, Head of Programming said “Providing differentiated content that surprises and engages audiences is at the heart of EPIC programming. Stories of, and from India fascinate us, and the audiences have consistently echoed our sentiment. Hit The Road, India is a worthy addition to our eclectic collection of India-centric content and we are sure that it will be well received.”

    Focused on producing and providing a platform for content driven shows is at the core of EPIC’s identity, and the channel continues to redefine Indian infotainment introducing programming in line with this brand ethos.

  • Amazon heavily dependent on Diwali sale for revenue

    Amazon heavily dependent on Diwali sale for revenue

    MUMBAI: Not only do Indians eagerly await Diwali but so does Amazon it seems. The largest online retailer across the world has published a mixed result for the third quarter. While its revenue fell short of Wall Street expectation, it posted a record profit. On the other hand, despite the growth in domestic business, the international business showed a significant slowdown. Interestingly, a late Diwali in India has been cited as the reason which shows how crucial the Indian market has become for it.

    “There's also material change in the Diwali calendar in India. About half of our Diwali sales last year were in Q3. This year they'll be fully in Q4. So those are a couple factors that hit the international growth area in particular,” Amazon chief financial officer Brian T Olsavsky said in an earnings call.

    In India, Amazon is already fighting the domestic player Flipkart which is now backed by Walmart. The first leg of Diwali sale from both the player was around same time. Despite Flipkart’s popularity in India, three fold number of people signed up on Amazon to shop in the first two days compared to last year.

    “We've seen great response from customers. We've had 60 per cent growth in new customers during the period. Orders are coming in from 99 per cent of the pin codes in the country. So, great first wave of the, what we call the Amazon's Great Indian Festival, which lead into Diwali,” Olsavsky added.

    Advertising has been one of the major areas where the company reaped high profit. The revenue from the unit representing its display, sponsored product and other advertising revenue jumped 123 per cent, more than double the growth rate a year earlier.  While it is locked in a battle with Google, Facebook for digital ad pie, the company has made it clear that it won’t go down the road of ad-supported Amazon Prime Video soon.

    Amazon Prime membership, the card at hand to turn more consumers into shoppers, has continued to grow in US, as well as other countries. The company claims to be satisfied with the renewal data and annual sign up data since the price increase earlier this year.

    “Since then, program remains very strong, both in membership and engagement, and a lot of our video content, music and shipping definitely as well as other Prime Benefits. We just continue to see that ramp up, not only in the US, but in other countries. So we do continue to make the Prime offer better as well,” Amazon CFO said.

    Although the slowdown in international business led to fall in shares, it continued to reduce losses, which came down to $385 million in Q3 from $494 million in Q2. However, on the back of Diwali sale Amazon expects a huge boost to international segment reaffirming India’s importance in its business.

  • Foodpanda acquires Holachef

    Foodpanda acquires Holachef

    MUMBAI: Food delivery company Foodpanda, India’s fastest growing today announced its acquisition of Mumbai-based food-tech venture Holachef.

    Through this collaboration, Foodpanda marks its strategic entry into cloud kitchens and plans to launch its own brand of food products in different categories.

    Foodpanda will build deeper capabilities to serve the diverse needs of millions of Indians by bringing different trusted offerings tailored to the needs of specific customer segments alongside an enhanced food ordering experience. With India’s largest food delivery network of 125,000 delivery partners, Foodpanda is well poised to address the increased demand on its platform.

    Foodpanda India CEO Pranay Jivrajka says, “Through the Ola platform, we already have an unmatched access to over 150 million customers and an understanding of their preferences. We have been able to bring an enhanced experience for millions of customers over the past year. We aim to build India’s largest cloud kitchen network that will be a major step in further elevating the food experience for our customers.”

    As part of the acquisition, Foodpanda will take over Holachef’s business including its kitchens, equipment, as well as bring onboard the company’s employees.

    Holachef’s founders are set to join Foodpanda’s leadership team.

    Launched in 2012, Foodpanda’s  cumulatively reach is over 150 million consumers across the country. With an enhanced focus on local innovation, technology, and delivery logistics, we are redefining the experience for every one of our stakeholders viz. customers, delivery partners, and restaurant partners.

    Foodpanda is also India’s fastest growing food delivery platform, processing over 300,000 orders a day from 25,000+ restaurant partners across the country with the largest food delivery network of 125,000+ Delivery Partners.

  • No internet shutdown in India confirms Cyber Security official

    No internet shutdown in India confirms Cyber Security official

    MUMBAI: A news report by international television network Russia Today shocked the world as it reported about an internet blackout all over planet earth. The report said that internet users all across the globe may experience widespread network failures following routine maintenance of key domain servers over the next 48 hours.

    However, a chief government cyber security official resolved the country’s confusion by clarifying that India will not face any episode of internet shutdown.

    “All arrangements are in place and there will be no internet shutdown in India as is being circulated in the media,” stated National Cyber Security Coordinator Gulshan Rai to NDTV.

    Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) explained that the report by Russia Today had a “clickbait” headline. The impact on the internet users would be minimal confirmed ICANN.

    Speaking to NDTV, an ICANN spokesperson said, “Unfortunately, that story carries a headline that is a clickbait. There will be minimal impact to users. Note that data analysis suggests that more than 99 per cent of users whose resolvers are validating will be unaffected.”

    The ICANN spokesperson also said, “It has been about 20 hours since the rollover and based on all information we have, everything is going smoothly. There have been only a small handful of reports of issues suspected to be caused by the rollover. In all cases, it appears the impact was minor and the issues were quickly resolved.”

  • SVoD subscriptions to see massive growth worldwide

    SVoD subscriptions to see massive growth worldwide

    MUMBAI: Streamers across the world are ready to pay for online video. According to a new study by analyst firm Digital TV Research, SVOD subscriptions will more than double between 2017 and 2023. While Global pay-TV and SVoD subscriptions are expected to reach 1.877 bn by 2023, traditional pay-TV(http://www.indiantelevision.com/dth/dth-operator/dish-tv) will only add 94 mn subscribers.
    At the end of 2017, the number of subscribers stood at 222 mn in US which is predicted to reach to 289 mn subscriptions by 2023. But China will see the highest rate of growth by adding 171 mn subscriptions during this period to take its total to 610 mn. However, its pay TV subscription will grow by 32 mn only. India will add 49 mn pay-TV and SVoD subscriptions in this period.
    Based on the new subscriptions, total subscription revenues (https://indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/global-ott-revenue-to-reach-129-bn-by-2023-says-study-180921) will increase by 11 per cent ($25.4 bn) to total $251 bn in this period. Due to cord cutting traditional pay-TV revenues will drop by $18.5 bn to $183 bn. On the other hand, SVoD’s revenue will climb by $43.7 bn to $69 bn. This revenue jump will lead to an increase in total share from 11 per cent in 2017 to 27 per cent in 2023.
    The market leader US will see total revenue from $108 bn in 2017 to $105 billion in 2023. While Pay-TV subscription revenues will drop by $20 bn, SVoD additions will not be able to make up the shortfall.

  • BSNL sees speed spike in latest Netflix ISP ranking

    BSNL sees speed spike in latest Netflix ISP ranking

    MUMBAI: The streaming giant Netflix has released its monthly ISP Speed index data where India’s BSNL saw a noteworthy speed jump. The state-owned telco company’s average speed rose to 2 Mbps, up from 1.66 Mbps in July. Along with the speed spike, it also rose one spot according to the ranking. Other than BSNL, rankings of Hathway and D-Vois have also improved but the speed spike is not much notable. In overall country rankings, India fell one spot to 54th place. The Netflix ISP Speed Index is a measure of primetime Netflix performance on a particular ISP.

    According to ISP index, 7 Star Digital, Spectranet, Airtel have acquired top three positions. Another government owned entity MTNL fell one spot due to the spike in BSNL’s average speed.

    Globally, largest speed gain on the index was experienced by Flow in Jamaica. Speeds at the Jamaican operator increased by 0.74 Mbps, bringing its average monthly speed to 2.37 Mbps. Indosat-Fibre in Indonesia also saw notable spike reaching a 4.14 Mbps average for August up from 3.76 Mbps in July.

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    In the losses category, KBro in Taiwan and SK Broadband’s speed in South Korea decreased notably. KBro experienced speeds decline to a monthly average of 2.80 Mbps from 3.06 Mbps last month and SK Broadband’s speeds slowed to 2.71 Mbps on average down from 2.97 Mbps last month. As per country rankings, Jamaica dropped five spots to 51st and Singapore dropped four spots to 12th.

    The country reckoned to have the overall top speed is Switzerland at 4.19 Mbps, followed by Netherland’s 4.07 Mbps and Romania’s 4.01 Mbps. Netflix’s home country, the US, stood at eighth position with average 3.98 Mbps speed.

  • Unimoni is title sponsor of Asia Cup 2018

    Unimoni is title sponsor of Asia Cup 2018

    MUMBAI: Unimoni, a global financial services brand, has taken over the title sponsorship for this year’s Asia Cup tournament which will commence from 15 September 2018 in the UAE.

    Unimoni is a non banking financial company (NBFC) in India with offerings across credit solutions, foreign exchange, payments and wealth management.

    Speaking on the partnership, Unimoni India MD and CEO Amit Saxena said, “Unimoni is delighted to gain the title sponsorship rights for this year’s Asia Cup conducted by ACC. Cricket is worshipped by a billion fans in India and it is a perfect platform for Unimoni to connect with them. We are confident, this will mark a beginning of a long-term association with the sport and its many forms.”

    The 14 days cricketing extravaganza will see heavy weights like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, rising stars Afghanistan and a qualifier compete with each other to be crowned champions of the Indian sub-continent and Middle-East Asia.

    Going by previous editions, the tournament is expected to generate great excitement among fans. The last edition had a viewership of nearly 300 million, which is expected to be easily surpassed this time.

    The tournament promises many exciting memories to the fans with the highlight being the much-awaited India versus Pakistan clash on 19 September. This edition also marks a return to the favourite ODI format for the bi-annual tournament.