Applications
fix8 launches interactive TV platform AuditionsTV
MUMBAI: fix8, which recently introduced User-Generated Reality, a new media category that all started with its free downloadable software combining video, animation and Instant This is a platform for broadcasting high quality, real-time media to support interactive TV. Shanghai Media Group in China will offer interactive TV programming based on the fix8 platform for youth markets across Shanghai cable networks. |
AuditionsTV has been designed for broadcast quality output. The software allows producers to select media content from thousands of users on the Internet and integrate it into live or produced TV programming. fix8 CEO, Linh Duy Tang says, “Studies show that TV is losing viewers to the Internet. AuditionsTV will bridge the gap by integrating TV, Internet and mobile technologies for audience participation across reality,talk, game and dating shows.” AuditionsTV is currently being used on Shanghai Media Group‘s midnight talk show, Stay with You Till Dawn. The fix8 platform enhances visual effects and audience interactivity. Shown on Channel Young, a lifestyle and fashion channel, Stay With You is the first UGC programme in China. |
SMG will also use AuditionsTV to offer interactive content on In Star TV, an MTV-like Music Channel targeting high school students and youth markets across Shanghai. fix8 will allow viewers to record funny video clips, which will be used to create a special subprogramme within the show to air every weekend. Viewers will participate in real-time from the Internet across various formats including talk shows, talent contests, games, shopping and auctions. The show will air on SiTV‘s Game Channel. |
Applications
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.
