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BBC Worldwide offers festive promotion on Global iPlayer App
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the BBC‘s commercial arm, has announced that the global BBC iPlayer App will be offering users a free piece of festive content every day from 1st – 25th December, exclusively from the App store, as part of a special Christmas promotion.
The service will also be available in Canada – the sixteenth territory to be added to the pilot launch.
The global BBC iPlayer App is a Video on Demand pilot subscription service available on iPad that offers viewers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland the opportunity to delve into an extensive archive of award-winning classic and contemporary British TV programming both at home and on the move.
BBC Worldwide President of Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer Jana Bennett said, “We‘re proud to be building on the successful launch of this App by introducing it to Canada. It will open up the opportunity for a whole new audience to enjoy the best moments from seventy years of brilliant BBC programmes, wherever and whenever they want.”
Those who download the App for free from the App store can access an episode every day until Christmas Day for no charge and without having to sign up to the monthly or annual subscription. The free content includes a festive themed variety of the best of BBC and the best of British creativity including Christmas specials from iconic shows Only Fools and Horses and Absolutely Fabulous, plus 12 Days of Gavin and Stacey, Jamie Oliver‘s The Naked Chef – The Christmas Party, and Blackadder‘s Christmas Carol dependent on availability per country.
Global iPlayer GM Matthew Littleford said, “For those not familiar with the great BBC content available on the App, the festive offering is the perfect way to trial the service and get a good flavour of the quality and breadth of programmes it provides.”
Those who wish to subscribe to the service can do so for a cost of €6.99 a month (or €64.99 for an annual subscription) in Europe, $8.99 a month (or $84.99 for an annual subscription) in Canada and $9.49 a month (or $89.99 for an annual subscription) in Australia. Viewers will be able to sample carefully selected content for free before subscribing.
A subscription to the global BBC iPlayer offers access to British comedies such as ‘Fawlty Towers‘, ‘Absolutely Fabulous‘ and ‘Only Fools and Horses‘ as well as contemporary sitcoms and sketch shows including ‘Gavin and Stacey‘ and ‘Little Britain‘. Viewers can also enjoy new drama series ‘Whitechapel‘ and ‘Spooks‘, classic period dramas such as ‘Pride and Prejudice‘ starring Colin Firth, recent episodes of the soap ‘EastEnders‘, motoring show ‘Top Gear‘, the ‘Doctor Who‘ archive, stunning natural history programmes ‘Blue Planet‘ and ‘Horizon‘ and the children‘s show ‘Charlie and Lola‘.
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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.
