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UBS Conference debates cord cutting and Netflix
MUMBAI: The opening day of the 38th annual UBS Global Media and Communications Conference was dominated by cord cutting and Netflix.
Investors taking part were concerned that pay TV subscribers may engage in ‘cord cutting‘ and exchange their cable bills for free or cheap TV content through the internet.
Netflix has been named as the prime driver of cord-cutting among consumers who ditch traditional cable and satellite subscription services to go with internet-based video services and the so-called ‘over the top‘ providers. The Los Gatos-based company has been making headlines with its series of licensing deals in the recent months.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes expressed skepticism about Netflix‘s move of shifting its focus from physical distribution of DVDs through the mail to web streaming. He termed Netflix‘s willingness to pay $100,000 per episode for new TV shows airing this fall, as ‘a measly little offer‘ when compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars networks and cable TV operators pay for shows from their first airing right through to the DVD sales.
On the other hand, HDNet founder and CEO Mark Cuban said that “Netflix has done a phenomenal job” and has helped the content companies a lot. However, he predicted that cable and satellite operators will bring out their own web-streaming services by paying for added content rights, indicating that any cord cutting drift would be brief.
Slingbox founder Blake Krikorian agreed with Cuban and said that the content companies can also do their bit by ensuring the unavailability of free content online and authentication of all web content that would make it available only to pay TV subscribers. He argued that Netflix and others “would never exist” if TV distributors would have met its consumer needs.
Time Warner Cable chairman, president and CEO Glenn Britt asserted that his team still “can‘t find any meaningful evidence of cord cutting…other than in very, very small numbers.” He went on to term Netflix‘s online streaming service and other web offers as just a supplement to pay TV service and not a substitute because their content is “fairly thin” and “not that great.”
Agreeing with Britt, CBS research chief David Poltrack said that the discussion on cord cutting was being “overblown.”
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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.
