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Subscription revenue from DTH to cross $100 bn by 2018: study
MUMBAI: As subscribers switch to higher ARPU (average revenue per user) premium services, subscription revenue from the overall direct-to-home (DTH) industry is expected to grow from $65 billion in 2008 to over $100 billion by 2018. According to the NSR report -Global Direct DTH Markets, revenues from basic DTH services are expected to contribute smaller percentages going forward. The report also suggests that DTH subscribers will grow from 114 million in 2008 to 209 million by 2018. A total of 99 DTH operators were beaming over 13,800 channels at the end of 2008. However, at a compounded annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent, the total number of channel to be beamed is expected to cross more than 21,000 by 2018-end. |
The report spans 10 regions and finds both similarities and differences that have made the whole DTH market greater than some of its parts. North America, Western Europe and East Asia dominate all channel, subscriber and revenue counts, and growth in these regions comes from premium services such as High Definition (HD) and Digital Video Recorders (DVRs). Central and Eastern Europe, South Asia and South America, on the other hand, are very much on the growth track, but in their case, plain vanilla DTH subscribers are the biggest drivers. NSR‘s multi-regional presence with analysts in five distinct regions of the world provides for both local perspective and global coverage of these trends. Another trend that defines the mature markets is that of fierce competition as cable and satellite battle it out, and the threat of IPTV looms large in countries such as France and the US. Elsewhere, DTH platforms are cooperating with telecom giants to carry the trinity of voice, video and data over a combination of media. Foes turn into friends as platforms consolidate in order to achieve the critical mass required to bring in advertising revenues. NSR has not only looked at the prevailing market trends, but gone on to analyze their impact, both in the past year and forwards until 2018. Regarding the difference of this report from other DTH studies, NSR senior analyst Prashant Butani stated, “Television is an industry that everyone can talk about because we are all part of the audience. However, quantifying market trends is a different issue altogether, and this is where NSR‘s 10 region, 100 operator, 2,800 data point forecast delivers the bottom line to those that want more detail. NSR‘s report further segments these numbers into 4 product categories that allow companies serving this industry to go after their target market more effectively.” |
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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.
