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Dish TV has Rs 14 bn investment plan in 2 years
MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra-promoted direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Dish TV plans to invest Rs 14 billion over the next two years as it plans to ramp up its subscriber base. The company has already received Rs 4.05 billion as part of the proceeds in the second tranche of the Rs 11.40 billion rights issue. |
“Dish TV has already exhausted the Rs 3.10 billion it raised in the first tranche. The promoters have agreed that the second tranche can be given an early call. We plan to pump in Rs 14 billion over two years,” says a source in the company. Dish TV is also planning to raise between $100 to $150 million through foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), though it has taken an enabling resolution from the board to raise up to $200 million. The leading DTH market leader plans to add six million subscribers over the next two years. “A major chunk of the investments will be towards customer acquisition. The subscriber acquisition cost is Rs 2600 and is likely to stay there in FY‘10 unless the rupee appreciates strongly. Our target is to add 2.5 million subscribers in FY‘10 and 3.5 million in FY‘10,” the source adds. Dish TV expects its content cost to fall from 59 per cent to 40 per cent for the fiscal. “We have moved away from per subscriber deals and entered into fixed fee contracts with broadcasters. We have also put the expensive pay channels under a la carte,” the source says. The ARPU (average revenue per user) should be in the region of Rs 165-175 in FY‘10. “For FY‘09, the ARPU on subscription stood at Rs 146 while on gross revenues it was at Rs 185,” the source adds. Dish TV is targeting a revenue of Rs 12.5 billion for the fiscal ended 31 March 2010, a jump of 70 per cent from the earlier-year period. It expects to turn operationally profitable this fiscal, says the source. |
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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.
