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Trai Open House on media ownership called off as LCOs, MSOs raise demands on DAS
NEW DELHI: An open house called by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in Hyderabad on media ownership had to be called off mid-way when cable operators and multi-system operators insisted that they should be heard on their problems relating to digitisation.
Around 200 LCOs and MSOs wanted an end to the vertical monopoly of large media houses and sought protection from the Government.
They also raised issues relating to revenue share not being fair, and said it was the LCOs who had built the industry from scratch and made it possible for the broadcasters to reach the consumers.
They also wanted the bouquets drawn up by large broadcasting houses to be broken and rates to be fixed channel-wise.
Some LCOs said the customer had become like a ‘robot‘ that could be manipulated by the broadcasters.
Some of the speakers also said the LCOs had built the industry without foreign direct investment (FDI), and therefore any discussion on FDI was meaningless unless their questions were answered.
The Trai delegation included principal advisors N Parameshwaran and Anuradha Mitra, deputy advisor G S Kesarwani, and secretary Rajeev Agrawal.
Trai officials had come armed with just over thirty questions relating to media ownership issues on which it has already issued a consultation paper. Less than twenty were discussed.
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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.
