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Pay-TV market to notch up $236 bn this year: ABI
MUMBAI: The worldwide pay-TV market is growing on all major TV platforms worldwide, including cable, satellite, and IPTV. Pay-TV service revenue is expected to reach $236 billion by the end of 2012, up from $223 billion in 2011, according to ABI Research’s pay-TV Market Data, which looks at average revenue per user (Arpu) and revenues worldwide.
ABI Research expects the pay-TV market to continue to grow 19 per cent over the next five years, generating $281 billion in 2017. Pay terrestrial TV services, however, are losing steam with a small drop in revenue; the French pay-TV platform TV Numeric is in receivership and likely to close at the end of the year.
DirecTV experienced Arpu growth in the United States as a result of higher penetration in premium packages; it saw significant subscriber and revenue growth in Latin America, although Arpu fell slightly as more customers chose less expensive packages.
Cable-TV maintains the largest share of the market through 2017, although it is losing market share to both satellite and IPTV. North American cable operators have experienced drops in their subscriber base over the past few quarters.
Growth in satellite and IPTV services in North America comes at the expense of cable. This competitive shift, coupled with a small drop in pay-tv penetration, lead cable-TV revenues to fall about one per cent in 2012 despite a small increase in ARPU.Global Cable-TV service revenue market-share is expected to drop to 47 per cent in 2012 from 48 per cent in 2011.
DirecTV tops ABI Research’s global satellite TV market share ranking, both in terms of subscriber base and service revenue at the end of 2Q-2012.
Research analyst Khin Sandi Lynn said, “DirecTV experienced ARPU growth in the United States as a result of higher penetration in premium packages; it saw significant subscriber and revenue growth in Latin America, although ARPU fell slightly as more customers chose less expensive packages”.
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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.
