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Narrowstep, Firecracker to bring Asian movies to broadband
MUMBAI: Narrowstep the TV on the Internet company has announced that its proprietary technology system, telvOS has been chosen by Firecracker Media, a film and media company, to bring the best of East Asian cinema to the UK, US, Ireland and Australasia via a broadband channel called Firecrackertv.com. |
Firecrackertv.com is a streaming online movie channel featuring Asian movies on demand and provides a catalogue from across Asia, featuring rediscovered gems to brand new movies in a range of genres from martial arts to anime to art-house, including films from cult Filipino grindhouse director Bobby A. Suarez and films such as Nuan from China, Monday Morning Glory from Malaysia, 2005, Post Revolutionary Era from China, 2004 and Love‘s Lone Flower from Taiwan. The company notes that in recent years, the success of films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, Hero and Oldboy has made Asian films increasingly popular to mass audiences, but access to them has been limited. Firecracker launched the TV channel to make similar films and TV shows available to a wider audience, to complement their existing online and print magazine, and highlight the Firecracker Showcase, a UK-based, annual East Asian Film event. |
Narrowstep chairman and CEO David McCourt says, “Firecracker TV is a brilliant example of how broadband television is working to give viewers control over what they watch and when they watch it. There is a very devoted group of people who love this genre of film and through our technology Firecracker is able to expand their distribution reach and bring the content to them.” |
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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.
