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Ralph Rivers is BBC director, digital media
MUMBAI: BBC has announced the appointment of Ralph Rivera as director, digital media, future media and technology.
Reporting to BBC Future Media and Technology director Erik Huggers, Rivera will take responsibility for the delivery of all the BBC‘s digital media products on the web, mobile devices and internet-connected TV platforms, working in partnership with the BBC‘s editorial divisions (Vision, Audio & Music, Journalism and North). He starts at the BBC on 8 November.
Huggers says, “The BBC is loved by the public for its high quality programmes and services. Our duty is to innovate and give audiences access to public service media at a time and place that suits them.
“Technology is transforming our lives and we are only just beginning to understand the enormous creative possibilities open to us – digital media will completely reshape how we inform, educate and entertain in the internet age.
“Our ambition is to fuse high-quality editorial, cutting-edge technology and intuitive design to create great products and services. Throughout his career, Ralph has a proven track record in creating digital media products that are used by millions of people. I‘m delighted that he has chosen to continue this journey at the BBC.”
Rivera joins the BBC from Major League Gaming in New York, where he was responsible for product development for the professional video game league.
Prior to that, he ran AOL‘s Games and Latino businesses, oversaw the expansion of AOL‘s international web presence and launched the social gaming platform games.com. Before his time at AOL, Rivera worked for publishing company Pearson Education, Simon and Schuster, Deloitte and Touche and IBM.
He said: “The BBC is held in incredibly high regard in the US. There is no other organisation in the world that has the sheer quality of content, heritage in engineering, and will to harness innovation for the benefit of the wider public. The BBC iPlayer has already transformed TV on the web, but that‘s just a hint of what‘s possible. I can‘t wait to get started.”
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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.
