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DEN doubles borrowing cap to Rs 20 bn; Q3 consolidated up 10% QoQ
MUMBAI: With digitisation firm on the government‘s agenda, DEN Networks Ltd, a leading multi-system operator (MSO), has got the board approval to double its borrowing power from existing Rs 10 billion to Rs 20 billion.
The company also said on Tuesday that its consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended 31 December rose 10 per cent to Rs 171.7 million from Rs 155.9 million in the previous quarter, in line with revenue growth.
Incidentally, this quarter saw the rollout of the first phase of digitisation in the four metros. The government stuck to the deadline of 1 November, though digitisation got disrupted in Chennai due to a Madras High Court order.
DEN’s consolidated Ebidta for the three-month period beginning 1 September jumped 22 per cent to Rs 603.9 million from Rs 308.4 million in the trailing quarter.
The company’s consolidated net revenue grew 12 per cent to Rs 2.41 billion from Rs 2.16 billion in the previous quarter. Its expenditure during the quarter increased to Rs 1.81 billion from Rs 1.66 billion due to rise in operation expenses.
DEN’s net profit from cable business was up 19 per cent to Rs 159.5 million from Rs 133.9 million in the previous quarter. Its operating profit rose 26 per cent to Rs 585.3 million from Rs 463 million.
Its revenues from the cable business grew 13 per cent to Rs 2.29 billion from Rs 2.02 billion in the previous quarter.
DEN’s net profit from distribution business was Rs 12.4 million on income of Rs 123.3 million and expenditure of Rs 104.7 million.
On the first phase of digitisation, the MSO said it along with its affiliates seeded over 1.8 million set-top boxes (STBs) in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. About half of these STBs were deployed in the third quarter.
DEN has presence in 23 of the 38 cities where digitisation will happen in phase 2, including all the seven cities of Uttar Pradeh, five towns in Maharashtra, 3 in Gujarat, two each in Rajasthan and Karnataka, and 1 each in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Haryana. Den said it has already seeded over 600,000 STBs in these markets.
The company said it was also gearing to build a high speed broadband internet service and offer bundled double play and triple play services to consumers in fully digitised markets over the next few quarters.
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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.
