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Buzz18, Indiwo to offer live webcast of Lakme Fashion Week
MUMBAI: Web18 group‘s two entertainment and women‘s websites – Buzz18.com and IndiWo.
com will offer exclusive live webcast for some shows of the Lakmé Fashion Week starting from 13 October. Buzz18 has been appointed as the official broadband partner of Lakmé Fashion Week and has taken the breakthrough initiative in the internet industry through live webcasting. Through this initiative, internet users will get the special opportunity to watch the best of Lakmé Fashion Week on the internet. Lakmé Fashion Week is known for the caliber of designers showcasing their collections at the event which the organisers claim, will be further enhanced through live webcasting on Buzz18 and IndiWo.com. 54 designers from across the country will participate in the event this year. Some of the well known designers as Manish Malhotra, Neeta Lulla, Vikram Phadnis, Arjun Khanna will be participating and showcasing their best of collections for the season. Commenting on the launch of its latest offering in the internet space, Web18 director marketing Neeraj Sanan states, “Buzz18.com and IndiWo.com have always provided its users the best of entertainment round the clock. We are extremely honored to be associated with such a prestigious event of the country that has created a niche for itself as India‘s biggest fashion extravaganza. Live Webscasting on Buzz18.com and IndiWo.com is our initiative to provide complete updates and highlights of the fashion week and make sure that the fashion lovers are not deprived of the best of the action due to lack of time or television.” “Internet industry is currently 30 million in India as per the industry estimates and seeing the potential of the internet market, we believe that it will bring a boon in the internet space,” Sanan added. | ||||
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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.
