Applications
Videocon d2h expects break even with 4 mn subs by September 2011
MUMBAI: Videocon d2h, the direct-to-home (DTH) arm of Videocon Industries, expects to operationally break even after it reaches four million subscribers by September next year.
Videocon d2h has already reached two million DTH subscribers and is expecting to add another million by the end of this fiscal.
“We should be in a position to break even operationally after we reach four million subscribers. We expect to end FY’11 with a subscriber base of three million. We should be touching the four-million mark by September 2011,” says Videocon group director Saurabh Dhoot.
Videocon d2h has the advantage of manufacturing the set-top boxes, enabling it to keep costs low. “The Videocon brand has a powerful consumer pull. We are seeing strong subscriber growth from across India except Taimil Nadu and Kerala. About 40 per cent of our subscribers are from urban markets and 60 per cent from rural India,” avers Dhoot.
Videocon d2h claims that its ARPU (average revenue per user) stands at Rs 200.
Some Media analysts, however, feel that Videocon’s break even target sounds too ambitious. “The customer acquisition cost for the industry is around Rs 2600. Even with the advantage of manufacturing STBs, it would take some effort to break even with four million subscribers. For the sector, the ARPUs are on the lower side and Videocon d2h has two packages – at Rs 136 and Rs 265 per month,” says an analyst at a broking firm.
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.
