Applications
DD’s DTH may go e-auction route to take in channels
NEW DELHI: Although a majority of the members of the Prasar Bharati Board favour e-auction to shortlist the television channels which will get space on the country’s only free-to-air direct-to-home platform after its expansion, no final decision has been taken yet.
If DD Direct Plus auctions the slots for the channels, it is expected to earn at least Rs 3.5 billion. Prasar Bharati sources said an e-auction may mean replacement of the present system of an annual carriage fee, which is around Rs 8 million a channel.
Since over 250 free-to-air TV channels are in the queue, Prasar Bharati will now have to consider whether the slots should be given on a first-come-first-served basis or through e-auction which is bound to give greater revenue.
Prasar Bharati sources told indiantelevision.com that a sub-committee with experts may be formed to finalise the mode of selection.
The DTH platform has a current capacity of 59 channels. It presently beams 57 TV channels, apart from 21 channels of All India Radio. The TV channels include 21 Doordarshan channels.
The long-awaited clearance for the expansion of DD Direct Plus came through earlier this month with the board giving its approval for expansion to 200 channels by the end of the year. The Board decided that “this is to be implemented with immediate effect and efforts made to make it operational within a month.”
Sources said an e-auction may help Prasar Bharati overcome the difficulties created when it had served notices to some channels to go off DD Direct Plus to make way for high definition TV channels. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) is presently hearing a case in this connection.
Earlier, DD sources had told indiantelevision.com that the augmentation of DD Direct Plus‘ capacity will cost Rs 554.3 million as part of the 11th Plan scheme. According to the budget approved on 4 August 2010, the augmentation in the first phase should have been completed by 31 March 2011.
Being an FTA platform, the consumer has to pay a one-time charge for dish antennae, set top box and installation ranging between Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000 depending on the brand chosen by the consumer.
DD Direct Plus has a subscriber base of around 8 to 9 million subscribers, including the remote hilly areas and the north-eastern states.
The country has six private platforms that are operational – Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon d2h.
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.
