The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 world feed match coverage, which is supported by Disney Star, will see ICC TV produce an additional vertical video feed.

The ICC’s vertical feed will be a first-of-its-kind coverage for the sport across all 48 World Cup matches. The technological innovation will provide fans with an easier and more intuitive viewing experience on mobile phones, allowing them to consume content on the go in the most convenient handheld position.

For fans, this transformative approach to consuming ICC events will provide more access to World Cups than ever before. The vertical feed will provide a special experience with the addition of split screens in its coverage. With a focus on building more context to the on-field action, the split-screen feature will unlock an additional dimension for the viewers and provide a further sense of proximity to the action and their heroes.

The production will use a carefully curated array of dedicated vertically oriented cameras, whilst utilising the world feed cameras for split screens. The production will also feature match graphics and bespoke production enhancements to enhance the vertically oriented coverage.

The vertical video feed will also make use of traditional technical and editorial storytelling tools to further elevate the coverage. Key features like ball tracking, player tracking and field plot will be tailored to fit the vertical format. The coverage will also have a world-class commentary panel calling the action.

ICC Chief Commercial Officer, Anurag Dahiya said: “Cricket fans always look forward to the high-quality broadcast coverage of ICC events. With this in mind, the ICC TV team continuously strives to tailor our coverage to fan preferences. We are very excited to launch cricket’s first-ever vertical video production at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. This game-changing initiative promises to transform the fan viewing experience. It is an innovative approach to cricket coverage that will place fans at the centre of the action bringing them closer to the game than ever before and providing a world-class production to the biggest Cricket World Cup ever.”

Sanjog Gupta, Head – Sports, Disney Star said: “Consumers’ preferences and habits are evolving more rapidly than ever before, catalyzing the emergence of new user experiences. Disney Star has always played a pioneering role in taking cricket viewing experiences forward and is now proud to collaborate with the ICC to bring to sports fans for the first-time ever the ‘vertical feed’, on ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The ‘vertical feed’ aims to deliver to digital users, enhanced convenience, engagement and immersion, beyond the differentiated screen orientation. With its uniquely designed production style entailing cameras, graphics, direction, replays and other enhancements, it promises to change the way cricket is watched.”

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup kicks off on 5 October.

Veera, the ‘Made in India’ mobile-only internet browser, was launched on Thursday.

Currently in beta, Veera has been envisioned as a challenger browser for India by Arjun Ghose (previously an investor with VC firm Falcon Edge / Alpha Wave and McKinsey), Rahul Pagdipati (Chairman of the Board Zebpay & Board Member at Brave browser), Aditya Julka (serial entrepreneur Founder of Paddle8, entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School) and Kanu Gupta (founding leadership of Goldman Sachs in India, serial investor).

Veera has been funded by a slew of blue-chip investors, including Ayon Capital, COG Network, 6th Man Ventures, Folius Ventures and iSeed Ventures, as well as marquee angels such as Aalap Mahadevia (Briarwood Capital), Kabir Narang (B-Capital), Nikhil Mohta (Carlyle, ICICI Ventures), Kevin Hu (Brevam Howard), Saneel Srini (Moralis Capital), Ashwin Ramachandran, Viram Shah (Vested), and Dr. Devaiah Pagidipati (Freedom health, Physician Partners, Anion Health).

Arjun Ghose, Founder, Veera, said, "Our mission was to craft a faster, safer, and private browsing sanctuary for Indian internet users. We embarked on this journey to build an internet experience that resonates with India's uniqueness. With the average user spending approximately 7.3 hours per day online Veera's impact as the window to the internet for a billion Indians is undeniably significant. But, let me assure you this is just the beginning; there are a whole bunch of features in the pipeline that we are super excited about and will launch shortly."

Shah Rukh Khan is on a roll these days, and not just because of the massive success of his last two outings to the cinema. While his AI- powered Cadbury ad earlier this year generated much attention and many plaudits (including a Cannes Lion for Cadbury and agency Ogilvy Mumbai), ITC Sunfeast and media partner IPG just announced a new campaign which will allow consumers to ‘co-star’ with India’s King using the power of, you guess it, Generative AI.

And while Khan may be the shiniest example, he’s not the only star shining a light on how brands can use AI to deliver personalized experiences to customers like never before. From Virat Kohli and ViVo to Ayushmann Khurrana and Wakefit, brands and celebrities are turning to the technology like never before, just in time for the festive season.

Sanjeev Jasani, COO, Cheil India, says, “After brands like Cadbury led the way, advertisers have become more confident and have started experimenting with Generative AI to create personalized video ads. This technology allows brands to efficiently generate multiple variations of video content, catering to diverse customer preferences. It's a cost-effective way to scale up personalization during high-demand periods and goes a long way in delivering a great experience as well.”

Anupreet Singh, Chief Revenue Officer at Gan.ai, a video personalization company that leverages the power of generative AI to provide its ever-growing roster of clients is even more emphatic. “In one sentence, I would say that any brand that does not use video personalization during this festive season will face a very hard time in having any kind of brand recall. And the reason why I say that is because the number of brands that are trying to do that this season are a lot. If a brand is sending a text message or a generic video, in the larger scheme of the total number of messages that you will get, you'll never remember that something like that happened. So, I think the acceleration of the use of AI in this festive season will be massive.”

Gan.ai’s list of clients reads like a who’s who of both Indian and global brands, as more companies turn to the technology, but because of the efficiencies of AI in cost as well as quality, Singh says the technology is being embraced widely.

“Companies are now joining the fold because they are seeing direct ROI out of it and a lot of these big brands are using us to build their top-of-mind awareness to cut through the noise and create a campaign that really stands out. Also, a lot of upcoming brands are looking at it as a performance marketing hack. Brands like Alliance Group are using us for their communications across the board. And even several start-ups and smaller brands are turning to us,” says Singh.

Vivek Kumar Anand, Chief Business Officer, DViO Digital, says that as brands seek to capture the attention and emotions of their audiences during the festive season, utilising AI allows them to stand out, remain relevant, and create memorable experiences. “The landscape of festive advertising is evolving, with AI playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of how brands communicate and engage with their audiences. Advertisers are teaming up with Generative AI to craft festive adverts that feel just for you. It's about adding that personal touch, making visuals stand out, and ensuring everything's set for the festive rush.”

He adds, “Here at DViO, we fully embrace AI, refining our new tool with insights from past projects. And we're not the only ones; big tech names are pouring resources into AI, underscoring its massive importance in the market.”

Amitt Sharma, Founder and CEO, VDO.AI, says that advertisers are tapping into the tremendous potential of Generative AI to transform their festive ad campaigns by allowing the creation of dynamic, personalised and engaging CTV/OTT advertisements at scale.

“In fact, we've been experiencing a surge in requests from brands seeking to collaborate on customized AI campaigns with us for Q4. This trend underscores the ever-growing appetite for innovative AI-driven solutions that can elevate brands' engagement with their audiences and drive meaningful results,” says Sharma.

Atrayee Chakraborty, Knowledge and Strategy Partner, Lodestar UM, says that Generative AI adoption in advertising is experiencing rapid growth. According to a recent study conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), a remarkable 40% of advertisers intend to incorporate generative AI into their marketing campaigns within the next year. “This marks a substantial increase from a mere 10% in 2021, underscoring the technology's expanding influence in the industry.”

“This technology capitalizes on a wealth of data, including past purchase history, browsing behaviours, and social media interactions, to craft personalized content that encompasses everything from scripts to storyboards and visually engaging elements. Brands are capitalizing on Generative AI to realize a host of benefits, from scaling up personalization efforts, to tailoring content to individual preferences at a previously unimaginable scale,” says Chakraborty.

However, Jasani cautions that brands should exercise caution in the area of data privacy and take all necessary permissions before implementing these ideas. “The technology is fairly simple but the beauty is in what idea you wrap around it. Even though technologies like Generative AI are fast catching on, I still believe that in our business of communication, you will need an idea to make it stand out and do its job. That’s why the business of ideas can never be replaced by AI but will only be enhanced by it.”

Sharma agrees, noting that brands need to be watchful of the potential pitfall of excessive reliance on technology, which could result in a disconnect from their audience. “Striking the right balance involves prioritizing interactive and audience-centric advertising strategies. These strategies may encompass localized and IP-address enabled ad delivery, incorporating elements of gamification, and incorporating remote-based integrated polls. These measures serve to engage viewers while remaining sensitive to the evolving needs and preferences of the audience.”

Indian consumers shopping on WhatsApp can now pay using Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe or debit and credit cards within its app. 

The announcement was made at Meta's Conversations Conference in Mumbai on Wednesday. 

WhatsApp has more than 500 million users in India, the largest in the world. However, the government has capped its in-app pay service to 100M users. Now, users can shop and send a payment through the app of their choice within WhatsApp. 

“We’re making it easier to complete a purchase directly in the chat. Starting today, people in India can add items to their cart and send a payment using the method of their choice from all supported UPI apps, debit and credit cards, and more”, according to the company’s blog. 

Meta has partnered with Razorpay and PayU to make payment “as simple as sending a message”. 

Meta also announced “WhatsApp Flows” on Wednesday that will enable businesses to offer more functions such as choosing a train seat, ordering food or booking an appointment all without leaving the chat window. 

The company will make Flows available to businesses globally using the WhatsApp Business Platform in the coming weeks. 

Meta also announced that it will soon expand Meta Verified to businesses on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp after having rolled out the feature for creators in March.

“India is a country that's at the forefront of a lot of what we're going to talk about today,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in his virtual address during the Meta’s Annual Conversations in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Zuckerberg also lauded India and Indians for “leading the world in terms of how people and businesses have embraced messaging as the better way to get things done.”

The Meta CEO also spoke about the new innovations on WhatsApp. “We’ve continued to innovate with our messaging formats, our group chats and broadcast channels. And it's the same focus that we're bringing to how we support businesses, creating simple to use and easy to scale tools so they can connect with their customers in meaningful ways,” he said.

Zuckerberg also expounded on the various ways in which WhatsApp supports businesses, such as creating customized experiences, etc. During the event, Meta announced brand new features for WhatsApp Business, such as UPI integration. The company also announced the expansion of Meta Verified to businesses on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. 

X (formerly Twitter) users may soon have to pay subscription fees to use the platform, according to Elon Musk. The magnate has hinted that he could soon enforce a paywall around the business to get rid of bot accounts, which has become a throne on his side: “We are moving to having a small monthly payment for use of systems.”

Musk made the disclosure when he was in a meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu who visited Tesla Motors in California. Currently, the platform charges users for accessing premium features of X such as checkmarks for verified accounts.

By enforcing subscriptions, bot account users may get discouraged from creating new accounts.

Musk has not mentioned how much the new paid service may cost or what special features can the users avail of.

In the meeting with Netanyahu, Musk also addressed the issues of antisemitism prevalent on the plaform.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly said that OTT (over-the-top) players won’t come under the purview of the definition of  telecommunication services in the Telecom Bill.

According to news reports, DoT said that the current definition of telecom services under the Telegraph Act is good enough and that there’s no need to add OTT in the new bill.

The government won’t be enabling a revenue-sharing model between the OTTs and the telecom-sharing providers.

The report also quoted a government official who said that there’s no revenue-sharing mechanism in the works.

Telecos have been demanding a share of the revenue earned by OTT players who have been using the former’s network for carriage of their apps.

In their defence, the telecom companies contend that the streaming apps have been offering heavy services and generating disproportionately high traffic, pushing them to upgrade their network capacity.

The new Telecom Bill is set to replace the Telegraph Act, which defines “telegraph” as “any appliance, instrument, material or apparatus used

or capable of use for transmission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, visual or other electro-magnetic emissions, Radio waves or Hertzian waves, galvanic, electric or magnetic means.”

The move to remove OTT from the Telecom Bill is reportedly expected to be tabled in the winter session of the Parliament.