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Chennai cable ops say Govt’s digital STB figures faulty
MUMBAI: After cable operators from Kolkata, it‘s the turn of their counterparts in Chennai to dispute the digital television penetration figures given by the Ministry of Information and broadcasting (MIB).
The Chennai Metro Cable Operators Association (CMCOA) has written a letter to the Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni saying the government‘s claim that 69 per cent cable TV households in Chennai have been seeded with set-top boxes is incorrect.
According to CMCOA, the Chennai DAS area has four million cable television homes, but only 160,000 homes have been seeded with STBs. “You may call for latest SMS report of any pay channel billed with two existing MSOs Kal cables and Jak Communications,” CMCOA general secretry M R Srinivasan said in the letter.
CMCOA also said both the existing MSOs don‘t have enough STBs to seed.
“Considering the above facts kindly review the DAS implementation exclusive for Chennai after Task Force and Becil inspection in Chennai physically, Srinivasan added.
Earlier, Kolkata Cable & Broadband Operators Welfare Association (KCBOWA) had issued a rejoinder to the ministry’s claim. The KCBOWA had disputed the claim that STBs had been deployed in 60 per cent of the cable TV homes in Kolkata by mid-September, up from 20.67 per cent in June, saying the MSOs did not have adequate supply of STBs.
The MIB had on 28 September through a statement said that the digitisation penetration in the four metro cities was 73 per cent up from 68 per cent announced earlier.
Incidentally, the West Bengal government had last week urged the government to extend the digitisation deadline in Kolkata due to the Durga Puja festivities and unavailability of STBs.
The government had once earlier extended the digitisation deadline from 30 June to 31 October.
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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.
