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Warner signs pay per view VoD deal in the UAE
MUMBAI: Emirates Cable TV and Multimedia (E-Vision) has signed an agreement with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) to bring feature films from Warner Bros. to viewers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The partnership allows E-Vision to show movies and offer them through its pay-per-view service (eView). |
This agreement allows E-Vision to provide the latest titles—including Superman Returns, Flags of Our Fathers, Happy Feet and The Departed to all customers in the UAE. The service will also show movies from the Warner Bros. Entertainment library, including the Lord of the Rings and Matrix trilogies. |
E-VIsion CEO Humaid Sahoo says, “This deal is fantastic for E-Vision consumers. Bringing the latest blockbuster movies to the UAE complements our objective of delivering the best quality content to our customers. E-Vision cautiously chooses its offerings in line with customer feedback and requests to guarantee that all its offerings completely comply with its customers‘ needs. “This initiative is expected to witness great response from all our customers, especially that it delivers exclusive titles from one of the leading studios in Hollywood.” |
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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.
