Applications
Analysts ponder on carriage fee disputes
MUMBAI: Several media and entertainment analysts have started sharing their thoughts on cable carriage fee disputes that sprang up in the New Year.
News Corp and Time Warner Cable (TWC) avoided a loss of Fox stations and various News Corp cable networks in systems operated by the second-largest US cable firm by entering into a new carriage agreement that included re-transmission fee payments for the Fox network.
In a note to investors, adding that the likely deal would also include digital rights and possibly even the relinquishing of several minutes of advertising time by Fox, Thomas Eagan analyst Collins Stewart said, “We expect the companies negotiated a multi-channel, multi-platform agreement which included the Fox broadcast network, and several cable channels.”
Eagan said, should the overall agreement translate to an increase in programme fees per TWC subscriber of 25 cents-75 cents, TWC‘s 2010 operating cash flow would take a $12.6 million-$ 37.8 million hit if none of the increase were passed on to subscribers.
“Most likely, TWC will pass on some of the increase to its subscribers,” he added.
On the other hand, Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce pointed out that re-transmission fee deals have typically run three years and argued that monthly per-subscriber fees for Fox are difficult to pinpoint.
“There are many moving parts — values received by both sides — that make any one data point fairly irrelevant,” he argued.
“Something in the $0.40-$0.60 range might make sense, but again, Fox also gets more HD channel capacity and VOD (non-linear) content revenue sharing; TWC gets access to that programming, revenue sharing and advertising time etc,” he added.
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.
