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InCablenet switches off pay channels on analogue cable
MUMBAI: Hinduja-owned InCablenet Tuesday switched off signals of pay channels to its analogue cable TV subscribers in Mumbai, ahead of the digitisation deadline.
The MSO, which did not participate with the genre-wise channel switch-offs earlier this month, decided that this would be a smart step to take by making consumers realise that they had to buy set top boxes (STBs) before 1 November.
InCablenet had a handicap in not making the pay channels available on analogue cable earlier as it did not have a content agreement with Media Pro Enterprise, the joint venture company that distributes Star, Zee and Turner channels among others.
“We switched off pay channels to our analogue cable subscribers yesterday. In any case, TV signals will go blank on analogue cable from 1 November. We wanted consumers to realise this before so that they would not be deprived of watching their popular programmes on 1 November just because they don‘t have STBs installed at their homes. We are seeing rapid movement of STBs after this,” said InCablenet CEO Nagesh Chhabria.
Leading MSOs such as Hathway Cable & Datacom and Den Networks had started switching off channels genre wise beginning with English movie channels on 10 October. This had the support of the broadcasters under the aegis of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF).
The Hindi movie channels were switched off from 15 October, followed by English, Hindi and business news channels on 18 October and Hindi GECs on 22 October.
However, MSOs who did not agree to the switch off continued to get these channels.
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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.
