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Airtel Digital TV adds HD feeds of ESPN and Star Cricket
NEW DELHI: Airtel Digital TV has added ESPN HD and Star Cricket HD to its Real HD portfolio, thus augmenting its Real HD channel count to 14.
The total channel count of the DTH operator went up to 275 that include 242 Standard Definition (SD) channels. The company said that the addition is consistent with Airtel digital TV‘s promise of enriching the experience of its customers across India with superior quality, audio-video experience.
Bharti Airtel CEO – DTH/Media Shashi Arora said, “Bharti Airtel has always taken the lead in continually bringing in richer content and a superior experience for its customers. Apart from having the most number of sports channels on Real HD, Airtel digital TV also packs in Real HD channels across other available genres – be it movies, wildlife, infotainment or entertainment. We believe the category will continue to be a key growth driver for us going forward and this latest addition to our channel bouquet will offer a compelling service proposition for DTH customers.”
The new channels ‘ESPN HD‘ and ‘Star Cricket HD‘ will be available to all the customers on channel No 220 and 221 respectively. ‘Ten HD‘ available at Channel No 223 will be a part of a-la- carte HD top up priced at Rs 34 inclusive tax each per month, whereas ‘ESPN HD‘ and ‘Star Cricket HD‘ will be available at Rs 40 each or at a combo pack of Rs 55 per month.
With the addition, Airtel digital TV now has three Real HD sports channels while other HD channels are – NGC, Discovery, Movies Now, Star Gold, Star Movies, Star Plus, Star World, UTV Stars HD, History TV 18 HD, Colors HD and CNBC TV 18 Prime HD.
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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.
