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TruTV to launch in Vietnam and Philippines
MUMBAI: Turner‘s truTV will launch in the Philippines and Vietnam next month.
The expansion of truTV in South East Asia closely follows its Asian debut on Singapore’s StarHub in April, where its programming is serving up a dose of unscripted real-life.
In the Philippines, Turner Entertainment has appointed Asian Cable Communications (Accion) as the truTV distributor to support nation-wide coverage of the channel, while in Vietnam truTV will premiere on VTC Multimedia Corporation’s brand new Direct to Home (DTH) service.
Turner Entertainment Networks Asia senior VP, GM Sunny Saha said, “truTV is gathering serious momentum in Asia and the response to the channel has been very encouraging. Operators are recognizing that there was a gap in TV entertainment, which truTV has been able to close with its un-staged and utterly compelling real-life programming. It’s a unique brand of entertainment with universal appeal across cities and provinces alike.”
TruTV focusses on what it says is a new genre – actuality. It looks to offer content at its most personal where nothing is staged, re-enacted or contrived. The channel puts viewers in the centre of the action where they are transported to places they would never normally experience.
Celebrating its network premiere in July is Surf and Rescue: Dewey Beach. This takes an ‘actual‘ look at what it means to be a beach lifeguard when summer vacationers hit the sand and surf.
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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.
