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US broadcasters could go to Congress in Aereo dispute
MUMBAI: The fight between the US broadcasters like Fox and Barry Diller-backed Aereo is likely to get hotter. There is possibility of the broadcasters could appeal to the US Congress.
Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia has been quoted in reports saying that in the past broadcasters have gone to Congress. Earlier a US court of appeals had dismissed a plea by broadcasters against Aereo.
Aereo uses tiny antennas to pick up free over-the-air broadcast television signals and then transmits the video to its customers over the Internet. News Corp COO Chase Carey has threatened to make Fox pay on cable.
Right now Aereo is only in New York but the plan is to expand to several more cities. Aereo‘s premium subscription plan costs $12 a month.
The broadcasters want Aereo to pay to rebroadcast their signals, just like cable and satellite providers already do. Broadcast transmission fees are now a multi-billion dollar business. If Aereo can access content for free then cable companies that also retransmit signals might ask for the fee to be removed or reduced.
Of course Aereo is another case of the disruptive influence of the Internet and the impact it is having on business models and revenue streams.
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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.
