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BBC News product launches on connected TV
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has launched its BBC News product for connected TV, which will bring video news clips via the web to living-room TV screens.
The BBC News product for connected TV combines existing video and text content from BBC News Online and will initially be made available on Samsung‘s range of Smart TVs. It will subsequently be made available on a range of connected devices over time.
The development reflects the BBC‘s strategy to deliver greater value for money for licence-fee payers by repurposing BBC Online products for a wide range of devices.
The launch aims to tap into the growingInternet-connected TV market, with predictions that almost 36 million TVs with built-in Internet capability being installed in UK homes by the end of 2016.
The BBC News product for connected TV has been designed as a complement to the BBC‘s live 24-hour news channel. Editorial teams in the newsrooms will curate clips around the clock to run alongside text-based news from BBC News Online – all started, stopped, and navigated via the remote control.
BBC Future Media GM for News and Knowledge Phil Fearnley said: “Internet-connected TV is developing as a medium and presents an exciting and engaging complement to our existing TV services. As we‘ve seen with BBC iPlayer in the UK, and our global smartphone applications, audiences enjoy the freedom and flexibility of BBC services at a time and place that suits them – whether on the move or on the living-room TV.
“Looking forward, we are particularly interested in creating seamless, personalised, and location-aware experiences of BBC News across all connected devices – mobiles, tablets, computers, and TVs. Internet-connected TV is still in its infancy, but innovations such as this hint at the long-term creative potential of the internet as a medium.”
The BBC News product for connected TV is available free of charge and is accessible from within the Samsung Apps Store on Samsung Smart TVs. BBC Worldwide will also launch an international version of the product which will be advertising supported.
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.
