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CBS in content licensing deal with Amazon for Under the Dome
MUMBAI: Amazon Instant Video, the digital video streaming service, has entered into a content licensing agreement with CBS for its television series Under the Dome, establishing an in-season, online subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) window for the show on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service.
Prime Instant Video will be the exclusive online subscription home for Under the Dome.
The serialised drama from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel of the same name, will premiere on the CBS Television Network on 24 June.
Amazon Prime members will have unlimited streaming of all the series’ episodes four days after their initial broadcast on CBS, at no additional cost, and will be able to enjoy them on hundreds of compatible Amazon Instant Video devices including Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii U gaming console. Episodes of Under the Dome will also be available for purchase and download exclusively at Amazon Instant Video.
Under the Dome tells the story of a small New England town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. Under the Dome earned widespread critical acclaim and No. 1 best-seller status when it was first published by Simon & Schuster‘s Scribner in 2009 and was an Amazon.com bestseller in both Books and Kindle Books in 2009.
“Amazon has the distinct combination of having a terrific video service with a huge fan base among their customers for Stephen King’s book, making them the perfect partner for this summer programming event,” said CBS Corporation Chief Corporate Content Licensing Officer Scott Koondel. “With this innovative agreement, we’re giving fans more options to watch and stay current with this serialized series, and doing so in a way that protects the Television Network’s C3 advertising window.”
“With creative forces of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television behind Under the Dome, we think our customers will love this new show and we’re excited to be able to offer this ighly-anticipated series at no additional cost to Prime members,” said Amazon Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition Brad Beale.
“Adding a current season major network TV series like Under the Dome to the Prime Instant Video library so shortly after its live airing enables us to increase our exclusive selection of great TV shows and give customers access how, when and where they want to watch it.”
Just last week, Amazon announced that Prime Instant Video will soon become the exclusive online subscription home for PBS hit Downton Abbey.
The Prime Instant Video library now features more than 36,000 movies and TV episodes including shows such as Downton Abbey, Fringe, and The West Wing and blockbuster movies including Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Rango and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, for Amazon Prime members to stream, commercial free at no additional cost on Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, among other devices.
Under the Dome is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. Neal Baer,
Stephen King, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Stacey Snider and Brian K. Vaughan, who wrote the television adaptation, will serve as executive producers. Acclaimed director Niels Arden Oplev will direct the first episode.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
