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Adconion acquires online video service Joost
MUMBAI: Adconion Media Group has acquired some key assets of online video service company Joost. Though the terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, it is learnt that it is a fire sale that wouldn’t bring any returns to Joost‘s investors.
Last June, Joost effected a change in its business strategy to focus on providing white-label video platforms. Adconion says that it would pursue with that strategy.
Adconion recently announced its first long-term licensing partnership as the exclusive display and video ad-serving solution for the Goldbach Media Group in Europe.
Adconion CEO Tyler Moebius said, “Video is a top priority for our company, and through the acquisition of the assets of Joost, we will be able to provide advertisers, content owners and website publishers with an end-to-end global video platform and cross-channel video and display ad-serving solution.”
Moebius added that the company would be continuing to operate Joost.com and would provide its clients with a destination site to showcase and distribute their branded entertainment content.
Before it could acquire Joost, Adconion offered targeted distribution of content, including video and TV commercials, to audiences around the world via Adconion.TV. Through the acquisition, Adconion.TV will add to its library of professionally-produced video content available for targeted pre-roll ads across 2,000 publishers.
Said Joost ‘s former CEO Mike Volpi, “We had earlier put Joost on death watch, not in the least when its UK offices were dissolved and there was virtually no one left to comment on that story. It‘s also worth noting that the news of today’s acquisition comes a mere two weeks after it was announced that Joost’s owners Friis and Zennström had settled its lawsuits against eBay, the investor group that was purchasing Skype from eBay.”
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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.
