Applications
Hathway Cable plans to invest Rs 1.75 bn in first phase of digitisation
MUMBAI: India‘s leading multi-system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom plans to invest Rs 1.75 billion in the first phase of digitisation even as it expects DTH to take away 10-15 per cent of its cable TV subscribers in the two lucrative markets of Delhi and Mumbai.
Hathway has ordered 1.3 million digital set-top boxes (STBs) and signed a letter of intent for another 0.5 million STBs.
“We estimate our subscriber universe to be 1.5 million (including 2nd TV) in Mumbai and Delhi. About 20 per cent of this will be second TV sets. We have a presence in Kolkata through our joint venture company and expect to seed 200,000-300,000 boxes there,” said Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO K Jayaraman in an interview with
Indiantelevision.com.
Hathway has already seeded 250,000 STBs on a voluntary basis in Delhi and Mumbai.
The STBs will be subsidised and sold to customers at a price of Rs 750-790 (including taxes). “We will not sell below this even if there is a price war. We, however, feel that no player is in a position to indulge in a price war. DTH will fight for market share on the basis of perception and brand. All the Santa Clauses are broke,” said
Jayaraman.
Hathway will do fixed fee deals with broadcasters and content cost in a digital environment is expected to fall in the region of 35 per cent. The local cable operators (LCOs) will get a revenue share of 30-35 per cent and the distributors five per cent. Distributors are to also get a 30 per cent share in carriage revenues. “In Mumbai, we are comfortable with the distributors. There may be some issues in Delhi but we will manage to strike a smooth bond with them,” said Jayaraman.
Carriage income is expected to shrink by 30 per cent in the digital environment. “This can even go up to 50 per cent. But we will be somewhat compensated by a reduction in content cost,” averred Jayaraman.
Hathway has a cash pile of Rs 2 billion and does not feel the need to raise capital in the first phase of digitisation. “We will manage with bank debt, vendor and buyer‘s credit,” said Jayaraman.
For the first time, Hathway will splurge on marketing. The MSO has earmarked a spend of Rs 250 million towards advertising and the first campaign will break on 6 January.
Hathway expects to stay Ebitda positive while net losses will drag on till at least 2016. “We will regain good valuations if we manage to seed the boxes. Investors are bothered about that and not about net profitability at this stage. We expect our Ebitda to be at least in the 20-25 per cent range. We know it will be difficult at the early stage of digitisation but our endeavour will be towards achieving that range from the start,” said Jayaraman.
Hathway expects the ride in the second phase to be even smoother as it has already got a large population of digital subscribers on a voluntary basis in some of these major cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad. “The second phase is looking even more promising for us,” said Jayaraman.
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.
