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CNN.com, Google tie up for AdSense service
MUMBAI:CNN.com and Google have entered into an agreement designed to enlist Google‘s AdSense advertising program on the former‘s website. Through this collaboration, the AdSense service places contextually relevant ads alongside CNN.com content, allowing both small and large advertisers to target CNN.com specifically and connect with high quality content and traffic. Under the terms of the deal, Google will serve as the exclusive provider of auction-based text advertisements throughout CNN.com. CNN.com SVP and GM David Payne remarked, ‘‘At CNN.com, our mission is laser-focused on providing up-to-the-minute news and information to our users. Our new relationship with Google will deliver relevant ads to our users, enhancing their overall experience on CNN.com. We look forward to a successful partnership.‘‘ Google offers publishers a simple way to monetize their content by connecting them with hundreds of thousands of advertisers. With a variety of ad formats including text, image and video, AdSense gives advertisers the ability to communicate their messages in compelling ways and allows publishers to customize the look and feel of their sites to give consumers the best possible online experience. AdSense has a number of targeting options so publishers can maximize their revenue potential and advertisers can effectively meet their campaign goals no matter what their budget. Site targeting, a feature of AdSense available to all program participants, helps publishers earn even more revenue by connecting them with new advertisers who are willing to bid a higher cost-per-thousand impressions for space on their site.
Google strategic partnership director Marc Leibowitz added, ‘‘CNN.com is an important and respected news source, and we are pleased to enhance the reader experience through the targeted placement of relevant ads. By connecting CNN.com to our valuable base of advertisers, our AdSense program provides an effective and efficient way to monetize quality online content, ultimately benefiting readers, advertisers, and CNN.com.‘‘
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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.
