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Bombay HC dismisses cable operators petition seeking digitisation extension
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by local cable operators seeking extension of digitisation deadline of 1 November mandated by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry.
The Court refused to grant relief to the operators on the ground that a significant portion of television homes in the city has already been digitised and the remaining analogue households would also be digitised in due course.
The dismissal was confirmed to Indiantelevision.com by Kuldeep Puri, one of the petitioners.
A clutch of cable operators had approached Bombay High Court seeking extension on the ground that they needed more time to get their networks up and running.
Apart from Puri, the other petitioner was Paresh Thakkar, both associated with Hathway Cable & Datacom, besides operators from the eastern suburbs of Mumbai like Chembur, Ghatkopar and Govandi.
Also read:
Madras HC pushes digitisation deadline to 5 November in Chennai
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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.
