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BBC to launch two new original content channels with YouTube
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has expanded its partnership with YouTube to launch two brand new original content channels.
Coming soon to YouTube will be a new nature channel, showcasing a feast of new films created by the commercially funded BBC Earth Productions, based in Bristol, the home of the BBC‘s Natural History Unit. Another topical science channel, produced in partnership with 360 Productions, will launch in early 2013 with James May and his crack team of scientists.
BBC Worldwide EVP & Managing Director Digital Daniel Heaf said, “BBC Worldwide is very excited about expanding our successful relationship with YouTube. Not only is it a place to distribute the best British content around the world it will, through our original content, be a place where we can experiment with new forms of creativity. We couldn‘t be more thrilled at the prospects this brings our company, indies and audiences alike.”
In addition, BBC Worldwide will be launching a selection of long-form programming in the UK and Canada for the first time, including the first ever episodes of EastEnders, classic comedy The Likely Lads, a selection from the BBC‘s Shakespeare Collection and The Trials of Life and other dramas such as Campion and The Onedin Line.
A third strand of the deal sees BBC Worldwide renew its commitment to continue to add to its existing selection of over 8,000 clips, across its 6 bespoke redesigned channels. To date there are 1.7 million subscribers to these channels. The existing channels have all been re-branded, including the most popular BBC Worldwide channel. New clips launching today include Top Gear series 18, for the first time.
BBC Worldwide currently manages six channels on YouTube, with the most popular being BBC Worldwide, Top Gear and EastEnders. BBC Worldwide believes that this latest deal will support the ambition to drive subscribers and views through the combination of high quality originated content and unlocking more of the BBC‘s archive.
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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.
