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Times Group channels hop on to OneAlliance bouquet
MUMBAI: MSM Discovery (MSMD), the distribution joint venture between Sony‘s Multi Screen Media (MSM) and Discovery Communications, has entered into a multi-year distribution deal with Times Television Network (TTN) to strengthen its TheOneAlliance bouquet.
The move comes close on the heels of IndiaCast-DisneyUTV JV that further consolidated the Indian television distribution space. The consolidation will help broadcasters to grow their pay-TV business as India moves towards digitisation of cable TV networks.
The news and entertainment channels of TTN – Times Now, Movies Now, ET Now and zoOm – will now be exclusively distributed in India for collection of subscription revenue over the cable (analogue and digital), DTH, IPTV and HITS platforms as a part of TheOneAlliance bouquet. The deal between TTN and MSMD comes into effect from 6 February.
The channels were earlier distributed by Prime Connect, the distribution joint venture between Times Group and media entrepreneur Yogesh Radhakrishnan.
In a related development, Radhakrishnan has moved the Delhi High Court. The matter came up for hearing even today and will now resume on Monday.
“The channels have terminated their distribution contract with Prime Connect and moved on to TheOneAlliance bouquet. This has weakened the JV and even made it redundant in that sense as it has no Times Group channels,” an industry source said on condition of anonymity.
TTN will, however, undertake the marketing and channel penetration plans independently.
Strengthening the OneAlliance bouquet
The addition of TTN channels will strengthen TheOneAlliance’s English news offering which will include Times Now and TV Today Network’s Headlines Today. The bouquet will also have a business news channel in ET Now.
The English movie channel offering will also get a boost with the addition of Movies Now as the bouquet already has Sony Pix. Further, zoOm will combine well with Hindi movie channel Max.
MSMD President Rajesh Kaul says that the addition TTN channels will take the bouquet strength to 28 from 24 and more importantly will maintain the quality of the bouquet.
“These are top channels in their respective categories and adding them will certainly strengthen the bouquet,” avers Kaul.
Kaul said the immediate priority is to increase the penetration of TTN channels and monetise it in metro markets where these channels are well distributed.
TTN MD and CEO Sunil Lulla said, “The Times Group and Multi Screen Media share a similar perspective on the broadcast industry and together we are poised to help grow the industry by ushering in transparency, value creation across the chain and by building strong brands.”
TTN said its channels reach over 100 million viewers in 30 million urban Indian households.
“As part of TheOneAlliance bouquet our channels will benefit from penetration in more homes and availability on a wider choice of packages. TTN and MSMD will together be able to effect realisation of a fair share of subscription revenue as well as grow ARPUs (Average Revenue per User) of our premium content offerings,” added Lulla.
MSM CEO Man Jit Singh said, “TheOneAlliance is a robust distribution force and offers the best of entertainment to viewers. Addition of the TTN channels will further strengthen the bouquet and together we can ride the digitisation wave to maximize the true potential of the business.”
MSMD already distributes 24 channels across genres including Hindi General Entertainment, Sports, Movies, Factual Entertainment, News, Bollywood, Reality, Action, Animation, Adventure and Lifestyle. Apart from MSM and Discovery channels, TheOneAlliance also distributes TV Today Network and Neo Sports broadcast network channels.
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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.
