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NATPE Mobile++ announces Peter Cowley, Cyriac Roeding and Gary Carter to Keynote 15 January event
MUMBAI: NATPE Mobile++ organisers have secured three digital and interactive media executives as keynote speakers for the third annual NATPE Mobile++ event, which will kick off NATPE‘s conference and exhibition on 15 January 2007. Endemol UK director interactive media Peter Cowley; CBC Corporation vice president wireless Cyriac Roeding and FMX FremantleMedia chief creative officer Gary Carter will participate. |
In an interview format hosted by Paidcontent.org publisher and editor Rafat Ali, Peter Cowley‘s opening keynote will discuss Endemol‘s mobile, gaming and interactive broadcast activities for a number of its properties, including Deal or No Deal, Get Close to the Sugar Babies and Big Brother. Cowley will also speak about the UK ?15 million digital investment fund they have set up to develop new opportunities in digital media, asserts an official release. Billed as the most valuable thirty minutes you could spend all year, Cyriac Roeding‘s keynote session will address the next generation of media and the newly expanded media model: the convergence of Hollywood and Silicon Valley; the next generation of content; how traditional media platforms become interactive assets and how advertising needs to quickly follow this trend. |
Digital veteran and visionary Gary Carter‘s closing keynote will reveal the biggest business opportunities and pitfalls in the digital industry. Carter will share his perspective on the most lucrative opportunities in the media space. NATPE Mobile++‘s line-up of guest speakers also includes: BET EVP and COO BET Interactive Scott Mills; Microsoft VP corporate media content and partner strategy group Blair Westlake; CBS EVP chief of research David Poltrack; Amp‘d Mobile founder and CEO Peter Adderton; Americas VP integrated fremantle licensing worldwide marketing and interactive Keith Hindle; QuickPlay Media CCO and co-founder Raja Khanna; Fox Sports Interactive senior VP business development Jon Smelzer; Sprint senior manager consumer communications partner development Howard Coonley and Mobile content consultant Graeme Ferguson |
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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.
