Applications
Videocon d2h’s Arpu in 2012-13 first half at Rs 135
MUMBAI: The average revenue per user (Arpu) per month of Videocon d2h, the direct-to-home (DTH) television service of Bharat Business Channel, was Rs 135 in the six months ended 31 October 2012, up from Rs 113 in the fiscal year beginning 1 April 2011.
Videocon d2h‘s gross subscriber base as on 31 October was 6.62 million, up 21 per cent from 5.48 million as on 31 March 2012.
The company‘s subscriber acquisition cost in the first half of 2012-13 was the lowest at Rs 2,021 per subscriber as it procures set-top boxes (STBs) locally from a group company.
Videocon d2h will buy from group firm Trend Electronics Ltd (TEL) 1.6 million standard definition STBs at Rs 1,400 per piece, 0.4 million high definition STBs at Rs 1,700 per piece and two million outdoor units and accessories at Rs 627 per unit.
Bharat Business Channel has filed a draft prospectus for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs 7 billion.
Videocon d2h has the highest subscriber addition rate with a 25 per cent share in the total additions by DTH players in the first half of 2012-13. In the whole of 2011-12 too Videocon d2h had the highest share of 24.4 per cent in new subscriber additions.
The company‘s monthly churn rate too was lower at 0.89 per cent in the first half of 2012-13 from 1.16 per cent in the whole of 2011-12.
Airtel DTH and Dish TV, the competitors of Videocon d2h, had monthly Arpu of Rs 171 and Rs 154, respectively, while the monthly churn rate of Airtel was 1.9 per cent and Dish TV 0.8 per cent in the first half of 2012-13.
Applications
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.
