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DD mobile TV running unannounced, funds for digitalisation delayed
NEW DELHI: Though one mobile TV enabled digital terrestrial transmitter has been running for some days now, Prasar Bharati‘s digitalisation programme has been pushed back because the Planning Commission has so far not cleared funding for the ambitious programme. Senior officials are tight-lipped about the mobile TV programme, telling indiantelevision.com that the content is ready, but they could not comment on the programme unless the money was released, which they had expected to be done last week. It is learnt that one DTT has been modified, is mobile TV enabled and has been running. “There has been no formal announcement but it has been running,” says an official. Also, an AIR digitalised shortwave transmitter is also beaming radio signals. |
A fortnight ago, officials had said they would inform about the mobile TV programme, which had been on trial run during the Broadcasting Engineers‘ Society summit in February. Nokia had displayed a mobile handset on which TV programmes could be watched. However, as of today, there are no signs of the Commission clearing the funding. An official, requesting not to be quoted, says: “This happens many times, and often the programme funding is cleared around August-September. |
“This time around, we had hoped that we could see the money early because the government has been insisting on the go-digital programme, but it has not come so far.” He says that there is little hope of the money coming soon, and sources in the go-digital committee of the government tell indiantelevision.com that it has not met in the past four months, at least. “The files are gathering dust, we are not aware as to what the government is planning, and I really can‘t remember when we met last,” says a committee member. Incidentally, the broadcasting sector as a whole was left sorely disappointed when the Union Budget 2007 offered nothing in it for the industry as a whole and especially, nothing that would support the digitalisation programme. “The government has been talking big about ensuring digitalisation before the Commonwealth Games of 2010, but what has it done so far to ensure that?” asks an irritated official. Prasar Bharati engineers are ready with their programme, and in fact, a short wave digital radio channel has been successfully running since February (indiantelevision.com had reported this). But there has been no forward movement from there, sources in the government say. Prasar Bharati had demanded Rs 59 billion for digitalisation of AIR and Rs 60 billion for DD. The engineer-in-chief of Prasar Bharati, AS Guin, had told indiantelevision.com earlier that complete digitalisation would cost more than this, but even if this Rs 120 billion was released, a major chunk of the digitalisation target could be achieved within the timeframe (2010). But even that now seems a distant dream as the finance ministry seems to have lost track completely of the elaborate programme drawn up by the Planning Commission to take the country into the digital transmission era on radio and TV. |
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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.
