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Amazon.com expands content licensing deal with NBCUniversal
MUMBAI: Online retail major Amazon.com has announced an expanded content licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Cable and New Media Distribution that will bring programmes to Prime Instant Video.
Prime Instant Video offers more than 40,000 movies and TV episodes for Prime members to stream on Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, among other connected TVs and devices – all at no additional cost.
Prime members will have exclusive unlimited subscription streaming access to prior seasons of the following NBCUniversal shows:
NBC‘s dark fantasy drama ‘Grimm‘, based on the collection of Grimm Fairy Tales
USA Network‘s legal drama ‘Suits‘ and serialised spy thriller ‘Covert Affairs‘
NBC‘s new psychological thriller ‘Hannibal‘, based on the novels by Thomas Harris and produced by Gaumont International Television, available later this year
Syfy‘s new futuristic sci-fi and drama series ‘Defiance‘ will be available early next year
In addition, the announcement will add several shows to Prime Instant Video including ‘Smash‘, as well as Syfy drama series ‘Alphas‘, ‘Eureka‘ and ‘Warehouse 13‘. Also available are children‘s programmes including ‘Curious George‘ and ‘Land Before Time‘, which will both be available in Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, the content service that brings together books, games, apps, movies and TV shows.
Amazon director of digital video content acquisition Brad Beale said, “We listen carefully to our customers to find out which TV shows and movies they find the most entertaining. Our expanded agreement with NBCUniversal gives Prime members access to even more exclusive content that they can stream instantly, at no additional cost. Compelling shows like ‘Covert Affairs‘, ‘Defiance‘, ‘Grimm‘, ‘Hannibal‘ and ‘Suits‘ are big wins for our customers and we look forward to adding more titles soon.”
NBCUniversal Cable and New Media Distribution president Frances Manfredi said, “We‘re excited to expand our relationship with Amazon by adding great NBCUniversal content to Prime Instant Video. With Amazon, we‘re giving our established viewers a chance to catch-up on what they missed while simultaneously reaching and engaging new audiences who may not have seen these great series on their premiering networks.”
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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.
