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NBA plans India growth with Times Internet deal
MUMBAI: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Times Internet Limited (TIL), a subsidiary of Times Group, have entered into a digital partnership to launch a dedicated NBA section on the Times of India website.
The new dedicated NBA section on the Times of India website will reach more than 12 million users per month. The section will aim to provide fans with daily updates on the NBA news and scores, and will feature columns from Times Group journalists.
Also, daily video highlights, photo galleries and articles from NBA analysts will be offered, as well as features on the league and its players. Furthermore, journalists from the Times Group will travel to the 2011 NBA finals to cover the event.
The NBA becomes the second sports league after the Indian Premier League (IPL) to partner with the Times Group in India.
Times Internet Limited CEO Rishi Khiani said, “We are proud to be associated with one of the most recognised sporting leagues in the World. With the growing popularity of basketball globally, and more recently in India, we plan to leverage our audience to help popularise the sport further and drive newer audiences to the game.”
NBA International president Heidi Ueberroth added, “The Times Group has unrivaled reach in India and they are an ideal partner to help showcase our game and engage more NBA fans throughout the country. We are in the midst of one of our most exciting playoffs in recent memory and the innovative, in-depth sports coverage provided by the Times Group allows us to bring fans in India closer to the game.”
The NBA has marketing partnerships in India with adidas, Coca-Cola, EA SPORTS, HP, Mahindra, Nike, Reebok, and Spalding.
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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.
