Applications
Airtel Digital TV Q3 net loss widens 10% to Rs 1.96 bn
MUMBAI: Airtel Digital TV‘s net loss widened in the fiscal third quarter but subscriber additions stayed competitively strong in a slowing environment.
The DTH arm of telecom major Bharti Airtel posted a net loss of Rs 1.96 billion for the quarter ended December compared to Rs 1.8 billion in the trailing quarter.
The net loss in the third quarter of the previous fiscal was Rs 1.2 billion, while the total loss from Airtel‘s DTH business for the financial year ended March 2011 stood at Rs 5.18 billion on a revenue of Rs 7.7 billion. For the first nine months of this fiscal, net loss was higher at Rs 5.25 billion.
Airtel Digital TV‘s total revenue for the quarter went up to Rs 3.33 billion as opposed to Rs 2.38 billion in the preceding quarter. Revenue for nine-month period stood at Rs 9.40 billion.
The DTH operator‘s Ebitda for the quarter was at Rs 90 million as against Rs 116 million in the revious quarter. Operating margins stood at 2.7 per cent, narrowing from 3.7 per cent in the fiscal‘s second quarter.
Airtel Digital TV added 455,000 net subscribers during the quarter, seven per cent more from the trailing quarter. A late entrant, it has speeded up its subscriber base to 7.1 million compared to market leader Dish TV‘s 9.5 million, according to data available till 31 December 2011.
ARPU (average revenue per user) marginally fell to Rs 160, from Rs 161 in the earlier quarter.
At the end of the quarter, the company had its Digital TV operations in 587 districts.
Airtel Digital TV‘s cumulative investment stood at Rs 32.59 billion.
Applications
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.
