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ITV ownership rules not to change: Ofcom
MUMBAI: There will be no changes in the ownership rules affecting UK’s principal independent broadcaster ITV, UK broadcast sector regulator Ofcom said.
According to the prevalent rules a newspaper group with more than a fifth of national newspaper share cannot hold a Channel 3 licence or a stake in a Channel 3 licensee that is greater than 2 per cent. Also, certain persons are disqualified from holding broadcast licences generally while certain others are not allowed to hold certain kinds of broadcast licences. The rules also say that some persons may hold broadcast licences only if Ofcom has determined that it is appropriate for them to do so.
It is Ofcom’s resposibilty to ensure that regional Channel 3 licensees broadcast news programmes nationally which are able to compete effectively with other national television news, by requiring them to appoint a single news provider between them. Persons who would be disqualified from holding a Channel 3 licence are also disqualified from being the Channel 3 appointed news provider.
Ofcom also has a statutory duty to review the media ownership rules regularly and counsel for any change to the UK Secretary of State.
Ofcom said that the wider public policy debate about media ownership is ongoing and believes that any recommendations it makes will need to be considered in light of any changes to the legislative and policy framework. According to the regulatory body, it has neither observed any Parliamentary policy rationale nor any shift in the market context in which they operate for existing rules to be changed.
In a statement, the regulator said, “Our advice on measuring media plurality set out that it is for Parliament to decide if and when this rule should be modified or removed and that the conclusion of the first periodic review of plurality is likely to provide greater certainty than is currently available. As such, we do not recommend any changes to this rule in this review.”
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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.
