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Sony Pictures inks a VOD licensing deal with Hanaro Telecom
MUMBAI:Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has signed video-on-demand licensing deal with Hanaro Telecom, a broadband provider in South Korea. Under the agreement, SPTI‘s upcoming theatrical features will be made available to Hana TV subscribers on the same day the movie is released locally on home video and DVD. This is the first time the day-and-date VOD model has been introduced in South Korea, a major television market. It is also the second such deal in the world, following SPTI‘s announced agreement with SingTel‘s for their mioTV service in Singapore this past August, stated an official statement. “We are extremely pleased to partner with Hanaro Telecom to bring ‘day and date‘ VOD and EST services to South Korean consumers. SPTI continues to initiate new business models in order to create more value for our partners while giving consumers more choices in terms of accessing content when they want and how they want it,” said SPTI SVP distribution Asia Ross Pollack. The first on-demand title being released simultaneously on home video/DVD and HanaTV is Spider-Man 3. Upcoming movies include the CGI animation movie Surf‘s Up and the Bruce Willis and Halle Berry thriller Perfect Stranger. In addition to the day-and-date on demand deal, SPTI has also licensed electronic sell-through (EST) rights for current and library features to Hanaro Telecom allowing HanaTV subscribers to download movies to own onto their set top boxes, PCs and various plug and play devices. “The high broadband penetration and widespread practice of digital downloading in South Korea makes it an ideal market to roll out an electronic sell-through service for our movies and we are very optimistic about the growth of the EST business there,” said SPTI executive director Soojin Chung. “Our ‘day and date‘ VOD and EST deal involving blockbuster titles from a premier Hollywood studio such as Sony Pictures Television International are landmark deals for us and for the entire content industry here. Our partnership with SPTI is a testament to the success of our business model and our technological strength. We see this as the beginning of more groundbreaking deals with content providers from around the world,” said Hanaromedia head of content division Stephen Kim.
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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.
