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UTV New Media Ventures appoints senior officials
MUMBAI: UTV New Media Ventures (UNMVL) has brought on board Zaki Ansari as chief product and technology officer and Subhash R Ghosh as VP – mobile. Both these posts are newly created by the organisation keeping in line with its recently introduced restructuring exercise. As part of their new mandate, both Ansari and Ghosh will report to New Media CEO Manish Agarwal. Ansari will be responsible for building and growing online destinations for entertainment and information. Ghosh, meanwhile, will be responsible for increasing partnership with operators and platform players to drive revenue. New Media CEO Manish Agarwal said, “Zaki Ansari and Subhash Ghosh bring with them an industry experience of over 15 years, which will be extremely valuable to the new media business. We are proud to have them on board and look forward to working with them.” Prior to this, Ansari was VP – product development at Rediff while Ghosh was EnvIO Networks senior director India & APAC markets. “Keeping in mind its recent emphasis on the internet medium, I am glad to be a part of this organisation. I am sure that my experience will be useful to the New Media team,” said Ansari. Added Ghosh, “Having worked in various domains of telecom, my extensive association with this industry will bring forth a different perspective to the New Media business at UTV. I look forward to working with this talented team.”
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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.
