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Netflix has 36 mn subscribers; posts $3 mn profit
MUMBAI: OTT subscription service Netflix has reported better than expected first quarter results resulting in its stock appreciating by over 20 per cent. It now has 36 million subscribers. During the first quarter three million were added.
For the first time the company‘s revenue in a quarter touched $one billion. The company managed to record profits of $ one million compared to a loss of $five million during the same period last year.
Netflix added a million streaming subscribers in its markets outside the US. It plans to launch in a new European market in the second half of the year. In the US it added 2.02 million new customers. On the content side it has discontinued its deal with Viacom. Netflix will stream content from Nickelodeon, BET and MTV till the end of next month. After that it will let the deal expire. But the company is looking at a deal where it can stream some of Viacom‘s shows. The focus of Netflix is on exclusive content.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and CFO David Wells in a letter to shareholders wrote, “The launch of ‘House of Cards‘ provided a halo effect on our entire service. Customer response to the show increased our confidence in our ability to pick shows Netflix members will embrace and to pick partners skilled at delivering a great series”.
Netflix‘s share price has crossed $200 compared to a 52 week low of $52 in August.
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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.
