Applications
Star Gold launches in the US on DirecTV
MUMBAI: Star India‘s movie channel, Star Gold, is being launched in the US on DirecTV. The other three Star channels – Star Plus, Star One and Star News – are already available on the DTH platform.
Star, a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp, and DirecTV said Wednesday they have signed a multi-year extension for the carriage of Star Plus, Star One and Star News on the DTH‘s South-Asian International platform. Star Gold is launching in the US today.
“Since their launch in 2004, Star‘s leading Indian channels have become household names among DirecTV‘s South Asian subscribers,” said David Wisnia, Star‘s senior vice president of distribution, sales and marketing and head of Star‘s North American office. “We are excited to extend our relationship with our partners at DirecTV and are confident that with the launch of Star India Gold, viewers will get to see the best of Bollywood and continue to be captivated by the top rated comedies, drama series, reality shows and news programs that our other top rated Star channels showcase on a daily basis.”
DirecTV‘s HindiDirect and HindiDirect II programming packages are part of the DirecTV international programming platform and are tailored towards Hindi-speaking audiences within the United States.
“We are excited to extend our relationship with our partners at DirecTV and are confident that with the launch of Star Gold, viewers will get to see the best of Bollywood and continue to be captivated by the top rated comedies, drama series, reality shows and news programs that our other top rated Star channels showcase on a daily basis,” said DirecTV vice president of Programming Acquisitions Toby Berlin.
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.
