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Arun Poddar quits Neo to join Times’ distribution firm
MUMBAI: Neo Sports president, affiliate sales Arun Poddar has resigned and will exit the company by the month-end.
Poddar will join Media Network and Distribution (India) Ltd, a joint venture company between Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd and industry veteran Yogesh Radhakrishnan, as president, industry sources said.
Media Network and Distribution, an independent distribution platform, operates under the Prime Connect brand. It is an exclusive distributor for The Times Television Network channels – Times Now, ET Now, Movies Now and Zoom. The company will also tap third-party channels.
Neo has given the distribution of its sports channels on cable TV to MSM Discovery. Under Poddar, the company has already stitched direct-to-home (DTH) deals.
“There was not much of opportunity for Poddar inside Neo. MSM Discovery is in charge of distributing the Neo channels on cable. And under Poddar’s guidance, the DTH deals have been done. Media Network and Distribution throws up fresh challenges for him,” an industry source said.
Poddar had joined Neo Sports in June 2007, and was heading the distribution of the Neo Sports channels – Neo Sports and Neo Cricket – after the distribution deal with Star had a pre-mature ending.
Poddar has over 26 years experience and was with Zee Turner as CEO before joining Neo Sports. Prior to this, he had worked at Ten Sports as distribution head and was also with ESPN Star Sports.
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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.
