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Star launches Hindi channels on Bell Fibe TV in Canada
MUMBAI: News Corp’s media and entertainment company Star is launching four of its Indian channels and three Star Mandarin-language channels on Bell Fibe TV, the recently launched next generation television service in Canada.
The IPTV service is provided by Canada’s largest communications company, Bell.
“We are elated to partner with Bell Fibe TV and provide our top rated channels to the South Asian and Chinese diaspora in Canada.” said Star SVP distribution, sales and marketing and head of Star’s North American office David Wisnia.
As per the deal, Star is launching three Hindi language channels – general entertainment channel Star One (Ch No 805); Bollywood movie channel Star India Gold (Ch No 803); and Star India News (Ch No 804). It is also launching the Tamil entertainment channel, Star Vijay (Ch No 806), on the Bell Fibe TV platform.
Star‘s flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Star Plus is excluded from this as it is already a part of the ATN service. Star Plus is on ATN as a ‘must carry‘ channel since 2006.
Star is also launching on Bell Fibe TV three Mandarin language channels from Star Greater China’s bouquet, which include Star Chinese Channel (Ch No 708), Star Chinese Movies 2 (Ch No 709) and Taiwan’s music and lifestyle channel, Channel [V] Taiwan (Ch no 707).
“Bell Fibe TV offers customers an enhanced television experience delivered over IPTV platform,” said Bell SVP of residential products Heather Tulk. “Adding these seven Star channels to Fibe TV’s programming line-up makes our next generation television service even more appealing to Canada’s vibrant Mandarin-speaking and South Asian communities.”
The Star channels are also part of the ATN bouquet in Canada. “ATN has had a great programming partnership with Star for the past four years and we have had a wonderful distribution partnership with Bell for the past 13 years,” added ATN president and CEO Shan Chandrasekar.
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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.
