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Animax acquires rights for Videogame Awards
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has acquired the Video Game Awards 2009 (VGAs) for its Animax channels.
The event will broadcast on Animax channels across Asia, Central Europe, Latin America, Brazil, Africa, Spain and Portugal, reaching over 42 million households in 59 countries, beginning January 2010. Animax will support the VGAs on animaxtv.com with a dedicated suite of web content designed to fuel gamer interest around the world and to complement the on-air experience.
SPT executive VP, programming and production, international networks Marie Jacobson says, “The Video Game Awards lands on Animax at a key juncture in our development as a youth-seeking global brand. This category represents a core focus for the network and our 14-24 year-old target audience. We look forward to expanding the worldwide footprint and influence of the VGAs.”
The two-hour live event will be taped in Los Angeles, California and will premiere in the US on Spike TV on 12 December. Fans determine award recipients by voting for favourite nominees at VGA.Spike.com.
The 2009 Video Game Awards will break international news with announcements of new games from the industry‘s leading publishers including 2K, Activision, Disney Interactive Studios, Electronic Arts, LucasArts Entertainment, Microsoft Game Studios, Sony Online Entertainment, THQ, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. This year VGA viewers will get a sneak peek at Halo: Reach with the debut of an exclusive, world premiere video from the opening of the game.
SPT will also create a suite of online, mobile, and social networking companion content to the award show broadcast. These features will include Video Game Award photos, event news, game trailers, and original interviews with game creators and game development executives and educators offering career advice to aspiring gaming professionals.
The companion content will also include components custom to each international region courtesy of local bloggers and moderators populating appropriate social networking pages and community groups and commenting on the local gaming scene.
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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.
