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Satellite TV more popular than cable television in Germany
MUMBAI: Luxembourg-based satellite fleet operator SES has revealed that satellite television in Germany, the company‘s most profitable national market, has almost caught up with cable television in subscriber totals.
Satellite reception is growing in popularity in Germany while cable television is declining.
Germany has become special for SES because of the switch-off of analogue television there on 30 April when the country will go all-digital.
Analogue television uses much more satellite capacity per television channel than does standard digital TV, meaning at the cut-off date, SES will find itself with a large number of unused satellite transponders.
As of July-end last year, SES was beaming analogue broadcasts into Germany on 33 transponders mainly from satellites at SES‘s 19.2 degrees east orbital slot while 32 other transponders were providing digital services in Germany.
As of now, SES has resold nine of these 33 transponders to broadcasters to use after 30 April. Seven of these nine transponders have been booked for use starting later in 2012, while two others would be used starting in 2014.
That would leave 24 transponders carrying analogue television, compared to 10 channels or so for standard digital television and around five channels per transponder for high-definition television, depending on the signal compression used.
Already 85 per cent of German satellite customers have moved to digital broadcasts. SES has said that for 99 per cent of its customers, only the receiver needs to be replaced that would cost around 30 euros.
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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.
