Applications
Flixster develops movie application for Panasonic Viera Connect HDTVs
MUMBAI: Flixster, which operates a movie community service, has announced its popular movie application will be available this year on Panasonic‘s line of Viera Connect devices including HDTVs and Blu–ray players. By launching this new Flixster app, consumers will be able to watch and enjoy their UltraViolet movies and TV shows.
Flixster is a movie discovery application on mobile platforms with over 50 million downloads to date, including Android, Blackberry and iPad, and ranks among the most downloaded of iPhone apps of all time.
Flixster provides access to UltraViolet, a new industry standard that gives consumers flexibility with how and where they watch the movies and TV shows they purchase. UltraViolet also allows consumers to share their entire UltraViolet digital library with other members on their account, and they can even watch the same title simultaneously from different locations.
Flixster president Steve Polsky said, “Bringing UltraViolet to the living room will make it easy for consumers to enjoy their UltraViolet–enabled movies and TV shows. One of the great benefits of UltraViolet is the ability to watch your content whenever and wherever you want. If you‘re at a friend‘s house with a VIERA device, you can easily access your collection by simply logging into Flixster.”
Viera Connect is Panasonic‘s Smart TV platform which enables owners of Viera Connect–enabled HDTVs, Blu–ray Disc Players and Home Theater Systems access to a wide range of Internet–based video–on–demand content and applications covering everything from news and fitness, to social networking and online gaming.
Viera Connect requires no external box or PC and is accessed via a single button on the television remote control.
Panasonic VP of interactive content and services Merwan Mereby said, “Panasonic‘s Viera Connect Smart TV platform‘s singular focus to deliver to our consumers an extremely robust and interactive connected TV experience that can be customized and enjoyed on their large–screen HDTVs. We are delighted to add Flixster to our Viera Connect Smart TV platform in 2012. Partnering with a Hollywood powerhouse like Warner Bros. Entertainment to integrate their highly popular Flixster movie application into our VIERA Connect platform is another great step in our efforts to continuously drive the connected TV experience to a whole new level for consumers.”
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.
