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Sun Direct launches SD Digital Recorder box service
MUMBAI: Sun Direct, South India‘s leading DTH player, has launched a Standard Definition Digital Video Recorder box service, Sun Direct+, with unlimited recording facility that brings the features of pause, record and rewind at virtually the same price as the regular SD set-top box (STB).
The new Sun Direct+ boxes will allow customers to attach external storage devices like a USB drive and gain full control of their TV viewing through functions like ‘Pause’ live TV, ‘Record’ programs for later viewing and ‘Rewind’ for reviewing any program.
Features of Sun Direct+: recording programs you like from a channel as you watch it, schedule recordings up to a week in advance, pause any program on live TV and resume where you left and rewind and watch your favourite episodes or movies any number of times.
Consumers opting for Sun Direct+ for Rs 1590 pack can avail of three months of super value pack free, while those selecting Sun Direct+ for Rs 1990 pack will get seven month of Super value pack free.
Sun Direct+ is available with free subscription to the newly launched Super Value Pack four regional languages. Over and above the Tamil content and exclusive Cinema Club services, this pack also offers the best of Hindi language channels like Star Plus, Zee, Sony, Max, Star Gold, Zee Cinema and many others at Rs. 189 per month.
Speaking on the new launch, Sun Direct MD Mahesh Kumar said, “We, at Sun Direct, strive to put great content and services within the reach of the widest cross-section of consumers. The contemporary, world-class features of pause, record and rewind will now be within reach of every consumer. True to our claim of being the best value DTH brand, Sun Direct + will bring these features at virtually no extra cost."
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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.
