Applications
Broadcasters move Tdsat against Trai’s tariff order
MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) tariff order in July for digital addressable systems including DTH was bound to land in the court.
Broadcasters have moved the Tdsat against the tariff order that was to be implemented on 1 September and would have put the cap for television content in address digital systems at 35 per cent of the existing analogue cable TV pricing. They are particularly disturbed by the loss in revenues they would suffer from DTH where the earlier ceiling was 50 per cent of cable TV rates.
Star Den, Zee Turner and Sun among others have approached the Tdsat and would consider moving the Supreme Court if the verdict is not favourable. Broadcasters are seeking relief from the Trai order and the matter is up for hearing on Monday.
“There is a huge amount of competition among the broadcasters. Trai has not taken that into perspective and there is no need for heavy regulations on pricing. While DTH operators are given a la carte choice, the regulator also should have allowed our pricing to be dictated by market forces. There is no way any broadcaster can price itself arbitrarily in today’s highly competitive environment,” said Star Den CEO Gurjeev Singh.
There is no rationale for the regulator to lower the content tariff for DTH operators, many broadcast executives said.
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.
