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Tdsat passes interim order; restrains MSM Discovery
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) has passed an interim order, restraining MSM Discovery from representing itself as an agent for Viacom18 to third parties.
The bench headed by chairperson SB Sinha with members GD Gaiha and PK Rastogi, who reserved orders on 22 July, said the prima facie order was only by way of interim relief.
The order amounts to restraining MSM Discovery from distributing Colors and other channels of Viacom18 till further orders.
Viacom18 in its petition against MSM Discovery distribution bouquet had alleged material breaches, misrepresentation and under-reporting of subscriber base.
The case has arisen out of a dispute following the decision by Viacom18 to pull out its four channels – Colors, MTV, Nick and Vh1 – before the expiry of a three-year contract which had come into effect from 1 April 2009. Viacom18 has decided to shift its channels to Sun18, a newly formed joint venture between Sun Network and Network18.
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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.
