Applications
Worldwide pay-TV subscribers to reach 907 mn in 2013 as HD and IPTV Services advance
MUMBAI: Global pay-TV market added nearly 47 million subscribers in 2012 reaching a total of 864 million subscribers.
ABI Research VP and practice director of core forecasting Jake Saunders said, "The growth in satellite, cable, and IPTV markets was strong, although digital terrestrial TV growth was flat in 2012. ABI Research expects that the pay-TV market will continue to grow in 2013 to reach 907 million subscribers".
Worldwide IPTV subscriber base has been increasing rapidly over the past few years. In 2013, the worldwide IPTV subscriber base is expected to add over 9 million subscribers to reach 79.3 million. More than half of the net addition will be from Asia-Pacific; China alone is expected to add more than 3 million subscribers.
The cable TV market will remain strong, especially due to the growth in Asian Pacific markets such as China and India. Cable TV will maintain the largest market share of the overall pay-TV market in 2013. However, rapidly growing IPTV will cause cable‘s market share to decline to 65.4 per cent in 2013 from 66.2 per cent in 2012.
At present, 33 per cent of worldwide pay-TV subscribers are using High Definition (HD) TV services. HDTV penetration is the highest in North America followed by Western Europe; accounting for 84 per cent and 76 per cent of total pay-TV subscriptions respectively. As many of the countries in different regions are trying to switch over to digital transmission, the number of HD channels and packages offered by the operators increase.
Research analyst Khin Sandi Lynn said, "Worldwide HD service adoption is expected to grow. ABI Research forecasts that 38% of global pay-TV subscribers will be subscribing to HDTV services in 2013".
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.
