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All stakeholders confident about future after DAS
GOA: The first day of the two-day Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012 concluded with stakeholders from different parts of the value chain wanting introduction of the digital addressable system (DAS) without any further delay and expressing confidence that consumers will accept better customised services possible in a digital environment.
The speakers were participating in a round-table held essentially to sum-up the proceedings of day one of IDOS organized by indiantelevision.com and Media Partners Asia in Goa.
DEN Networks CEO SN Sharma said more localised content and value-added services will drive the consumer to accept the new technology.
Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said both DAS and DTH could co-exist as there was enough space in a country as large as India for both of them. He said ARPUs (average revenue per user) will increase with an increase in content and variety.
Hathway MD and CEO K Jayaraman said it was a now or never situation or the country would be left behind in the digital race. He and Indiacast Media Distribution Group CEO Anuj Gandhi agreed ARPUs would increase with time, as there were enough customers for all kinds of networks in the country.
While Videocon d2h Deputy CEO Rohit Jain said DAS was a question of creating a road-map withy conviction, IBM Head of Media and Entertainment in India and South Asia Raman Kalra said there was a need for a change in the mindset, delivery enhancement, customer retention and increasing monetising options if DAS had to succeed. He said customer-centricity was a must. JAINHITS MD Ankur Jain agreed.
Exponentia Capital Principal Neeraj Bhatia said new TV channels would spring up and therefore, shareholders were ready to take up DAS.
Castle Media Director Vynsley Fernandes said infrastructure, content and technology will win the day for DAS, and people will pay if they get all these.
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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.
