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Arabic channels Dubai TV, Dubai Sports join Asiasat 5
MUMBAI: Asian satellite operator Asiasat has announced that Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) has signed a contract to broadcast two free-to-air satellite channels, ‘Dubai TV’ and ‘Dubai Sports’, throughout the Asia-Pacific region on Asiasat 5.
Dubai TV, the state TV channel of the Emirate of Dubai, broadcasts events and activities taking place in Dubai and in the UAE along with local news, financial programmes and Arabic family dramas to a wide global audience.
Dubai Sports Channel, on the other hand, is dedicated to featuring major tournaments such as the Dubai World Cup, Dubai Open Tennis, World Powerboat Championship, the UAE Football League and other important world sporting events and sports documentaries.
Dubai Media MD His Excellency Mr. Ahmad Al Shaikh said, “Asiasat 5 is well known as the leading distribution platform for Middle Eastern programming, as it offers the greatest choice of Arabic content for Arab communities in Asia and Australasia. We are excited to join AsiaSat 5 to further expand our viewership and international reach through its unprecedented coverage across a vast area from Turkey and Egypt in the west to Australia and New Zealand in the east allowing instantaneous access to pay TV platforms, terrestrial networks, hotel networks, embassies and individual homes across Asia.”
The premium Arabic Channels Dubai TV and Dubai Sports are now available on AsiaSat 5 in C-band with the following reception parameters: Orbital Location : 100.5 degrees East; Transponder : C1V; Frequency : 3660 MHz; Polarisation : Vertical; Modulation : QPSK; Symbol Rate : 27.5 Msym/sec; and FEC : 3/4.
Asiasat president, CEO William Wade said, “With the addition of Dubai TV and Dubai Sports channels to our existing impressive bouquet of over 40 Middle Eastern TV and radio programmes on AsiaSat 5, we expand our commitment to providing the best and most comprehensive Middle Eastern entertainment to the Arabic-speaking communities across the Asia-Pacific region”.
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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.
