Applications
BBC launches a second-screen app for ‘Top Gear’
MUMBAI; When the new series of ‘Top Gear UK‘ returns to TV screens on BBC channels across the world next month – just days after UK transmission – a new second-screen app from BBC Worldwide will accompany the international broadcasts for the first time in the show‘s history.
Top Gear Bingo! was developed using UK-based Monterosa‘s LViS platform, and encourages viewers to look out for well known phrases, cars and items synonymous with the hit motoring entertainment programme, ticking them off on their screens in a similar style to a traditional bingo game. The free-to-play web app is accessed by logging into the local BBC channel‘s site where viewers can invite friends to join them through Facebook, comparing scores while playing along with the live broadcast. A new game is available with every episode.
BBC Worldwide commercial director of ‘Top Gear‘ Duncan Gray said, “We wanted to create a free Top Gear game that enhances our international viewers‘ enjoyment of the show‘s premiere broadcast. Top Gear Bingo! does just that, allowing fans to look out for words, phrases and items that appear, competing with their friends to see who can get the highest score each week via a leaderboard if you log in with Facebook. And we hope that the unique way we‘ve been able to integrate advertisers into the proposition will be well received.”
Monterosa commercial director Tom McDonnell said, “LViS is our versatile platform that allows us to quickly and economically develop fantastic second-screen apps that can live anywhere and scale globally. Working with BBC Worldwide, we‘re giving fans a way to enhance their viewing experience and broadcasters a new way to activate sponsorships and to create additional advertising opportunities through the second-screen. It‘s an exciting time for second-screen and we‘re proud that LViS is becoming the best way to make and deploy global apps for mainstream TV shows.”
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.
