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Asianet goes pay, sets trend for Malayalam channels
MUMBAI: Star India has taken its flagship Malayalam channels pay, in continuation of its strategy to ramp up subscription revenues from its regional channels.
Star Jupiter Entertainment Television Limited, the joint venture company in which Star India holds majority stake, has priced the general entertainment channel Asianet at Rs 13.50 and the youth entertainment channel Asianet Plus at Rs 7.50 per month.
The combined price of the two channels is Rs 15. “We have gone pay in the Malayalam market. The price is Rs 15 for the two channels. This is applicable to DTH as well,” Star India president – South Jagdish Kumar tells Indiantelevision.com.
The move is a significant step as this will open up pay-TV revenues in a market that has solely depended on advertising income. Even Sun TV Network‘s Malayalam channel Surya TV is free-to-air as it battles fiercely with market leader Asianet for taking the top position.
The southern market is interestingly poised this year as Sun TV increased its advertising rates across the network channels after a gap of two years.
“The ad and subscription revenues are opening up for southern language broadcasters. It will be interesting to find out how fast the revenue growth is in this region,” says a media observer.
Late last year, Star took its Bengali regional channels pay. Star Jalsha, the Bengali general entertainment channel, was priced at Rs 12 while Star Ananda, the joint venture Bengali news channel from ABP Group and Star India, was made available at Rs 6. The bundled package is Rs 12.
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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.
