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BBC to create 3 channels on YouTube
MUMBAI: Google‘s YouTube may be facing the heat from the likes of Viacom on copy protection issues but the popularity of the online video network continues to grow. The British Broadcasting Corp. has struck a multi-year content deal with YouTube that will make programming available via three branded channels on the search giant‘s video-sharing site. Three YouTube channels — one for news and two for entertainment — will carry content from BBC. BBC Worldwide will air promotional trailers for new programmes and clips from its old hit series on the website. The aim is to bring new audiences to the proposed BBC iPlayer service, and to secure commercial revenue via BBC Worldwide, its commercial subsidiary, to supplement the licence fee. From the BBC channel there will be content based on current hits such as Life on Mars and Doctor Who, while from BBC Worldwide there will be clips from old favorites such as Spooks and Top Gear, which are sold globally. |
The BBC Worldwide arm also plans to offer around 30 news items a day, though the advertising-funded news clips will not be available to users in Britain who pay the license fee that funds the BBC. The news channel will be launched later this year. The output will include specially created video diaries such as actor David Tennant taking viewers around the sets of Doctor Who and reporter Clive Myrie on the streets of the red zone of Baghdad. This would mirror the type of deal that YouTube has in place with US sports organisation NHL. Under the original deals the partners have used the platform for promotional purposes. Channel 4, for example, has a branded promotional channel plugging Ugly Betty. Several large broadcasters in the US have similar arrangements with YouTube including CBS, which claimed 200,000 extra viewers for The Late Show with David Letterman after clips from the show were posted on the video-sharing website. |
| BBC Director-General Mark Thompson said: “This ground-breaking partnership between the BBC and YouTube is fantastic news for our audiences. YouTube is a key gateway through which to engage new audiences in the UK and abroad. “The partnership provides both a creative outlet for a range of short-form content from BBC programme makers and the opportunity to learn about new forms of audience behaviour. It’s essential that the BBC embraces new ways of reaching wider audiences with non-exclusive partnerships such as these.” Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt said,”We‘re delighted to be joining forces with the BBC to bring the best TV programming available to the YouTube community. We will continue to invest in our platforms and technologies to help our partners make the most of the enormous opportunities presented by the billion people now online.” YouTube CEO and Co-Founder Chad Hurley said, “We’re constantly looking for innovative ways to bring the best content to our community. The BBC is a premier source for quality programming, and we’re excited that they are leading the way in enabling two-way dialogue and real engagement with an entirely new audience. We hope to open up an entirely new audience for their content, while deepening their relationship with their existing viewers.” |
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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.
