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BBC pushing 3D events
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC is pushing 3D in a bigger way. This summer, BBC One‘s ‘ ‘Planet Dinosaur‘ and ‘Last Night of the Proms‘ will be broadcast for the first time in 3D on the BBC‘s HD Channel. These two events join select coverage of Wimbledon and the Olympics in a Summer of 3D, part of the BBC‘s two-year trial experimenting with 3D production and distribution.
Planet Dinosaur 3D, scheduled to broadcast in August 2012 and adapted from the BBC One series, will recreate the lost world of the dinosaurs in a stereoscopic production. ‘Planet Dinosaur 3D‘ will take viewers on a journey into a lost world: from the iconic Spinosaurus, the largest predator ever to walk the Earth, to Microraptor and the advent of flying dinosaurs in China, this programme charts the rise and fall of the ‘ultimate killers‘.
The UK pubcaster adds that this is one of the most ambitious animated programmes ever attempted for broadcast TV in 3D. Viewers will experience the work of a specialist team of stereographers who have hand-crafted individual frames and sequences to ensure that the 3D experience has maximum impact, while leaving the audience fully engaged in the factual story.
Later on 8 September 2012, the BBC will also broadcast the ‘Last Night of the Proms‘ – the traditional finale to two months of the finest music-making at the Royal Albert Hall – in 3D for the first time. Eight specialist cameras will give audiences at home the best seats in the house and provide an immersive experience. With key camera positions in front of the conductor, and a remote camera within the orchestra that rotates to 180 degrees and can pan and tilt, audiences will feel that they are actually in the orchestra, with a 3D view of every individual instrument.
With Wimbledon in its second week, selected coverage of the 2012 Ladies‘ and Men‘s Singles finals will be shown in 3D this weekend, building on the broadcast of the finals in 3D last year. Key cameras will be positioned courtside, capturing viewpoints normally only experienced by the players themselves. Placing audiences in the heart of the action, the cameras will deliver the full excitement of a tennis ball speeding towards them.
Continuing the summer of sport, selected live coverage of the Olympics will be brought to homes across the UK, including the opening and closing ceremonies, the Men‘s 100m final, and a highlights package at the end of day.
BBC 3D head Kim Shillinglaw said, “Our recent announcement around Wimbledon and the London 2012 Olympics will provide a test-bed for what works around major sporting events, but we were keen to build our experience across a selection of genres. Bringing Planet Dinosaur and The Last Night of the Proms to audiences enable us to test the technology across various genres and establish where 3D really enhances the viewers‘ experience.”
The free-to-air broadcast of these events in 3D will be available to anyone who has access to a 3D TV set and to the BBC HD Channel, regardless of which digital TV provider they use.
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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.
