Applications
Airtel Digital TV adds 0.6 mn subs in Q1
MUMBAI: Airtel Digital TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) business of Bharti Airtel, has maintained its 25 per cent incremental market share, adding 0.6 million subscribers during the first quarter of the fiscal.
Airtel Digital TV‘s subscriber base stands at 6.26 million, according to data provided by the company till 30 June 2011.
“Airtel Digital TV has over 6.2 million customers and continues to add one out of every four new customers joining the direct-to-home (DTH) platform. We also offer high definition set top boxes and digital TV recorders with 3D capabilities delivering superior customer experience. We are the first company in India that provides real integration of all the three screens viz. TV, Mobile and Computers enabling our customers‘ record their favourite TV programmes through mobile and web,” the company said.
Dish TV, India‘s largest DTH company by volume, added 0.72 million subscribers during the three months ended June 2011. It has a gross subscriber base of 11.2 million and a net base of 8.9 million, according to data provided by the company till 30 June 2011.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel has announced that from the other business segment (which includes Digital TV operations, Corporate Offices and new projects in India & South Asia), it has suffered Ebitda loss of Rs 2.02 billion, as compared to an Ebitda loss of Rs 2.21 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
Total revenue from the segment saw a 90 per cent jump to Rs 3.7 billion from Rs 1.95 billion a year ago.
Commenting on the company‘s overall performance in the first quarter, Bharti Airtel CMD Sunil Bharti Mittal said: “Bharti Airtel‘s efforts in the area of cost efficiencies have helped arrest the margin decline. The new customer facing organisation in India will see more agile and responsive teams in action. This will also give a fillip to growth in value added services, broadband, digital TV and Airtel money. Overall, 2011-12 promises to be an exciting year of transformation.”
During the quarter, Airtel Digital TV strengthened its interactive services portfolio with the launch of new services- iDarshan, iGoodlife and iKisaan. It also launched its 3D-ready HD Recorder.
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.
