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Tdsat dismisses Dish TV’s petition over Hits
NEW DELHI: Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) has in its judgment in the case between Dish TV and Star Den and MSM Discovery has dismissed Dish TV’s petition over signals being made available to the licencee of Headend-in-the-Sky (Hits) platforms on the ground of non-availability of uplinking and downlinking guidelines for Hits platforms. According to the existing uplinking and downlinking guidelines, a broadcaster can only supply signals or content to registered MSOs, cable operators and direct-to-home (DTH) operators. |
In his order, Tdsat Justice Arun Kumar blamed the government for not taking sufficient action on upgrading Hits policies, “I fail to understand why the government is dithering on issuing clear guidelines to allay the apprehensions of broadcasters. The broadcasters today apprehend that in view of the existing guidelines if they provide signals or content to the Hits platform, they will be violating the existing guidelines because the existing guidelines permit supply of signals or content only to registered MSOs and cable operators and to the DTH platform. It is high time that the government immediately takes a decision on this aspect in consumer interest. We all talk of consumer interest and say that consumer interest comes first. But this has remained a mere slogan. In reality nobody appears to be bothered about consumer interest.” When contacted, Essel corporate executive vice president Arvind Mohan said, “Though the broadcast tribunal had dismissed our petition at the same time it has criticised the government for not clearing the Hits policy. We would now send the copy of the judgment to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting so that the matter could be resolved as soon as possible because in the Hits case the policy is the only major issue. And once this gets sorted, I am sure we will witness a faster roll-out of Hits.” |
| Dish TV, which owns the licence for Hits in India, had been urging the broadcast tribunal to pass an order for faster roll-out of Hits services in the country. |
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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.
