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Cable ops seek digitisation extension, Bombay HC to hear plea on 29 Oct
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Just three days before the four metros move towards digital cable, a clutch of cable operators will have their petition heard in the Bombay High Court on 29 October seeking extension on the ground that they need more time to get their networks up and running.
They will argue that digital set-top boxes (STBs) have not reached a large number of consumer homes and they are yet to get the channels from broadcasters for carrying on their cable networks for their subscribers to watch.
“We will seek for more time as 1 November is too short a period to sort out a myriad of issues. The STB penetration is not what the government is stating. We haven’t got the decoders from broadcasters. How can we run our businesses? There should be an extension of the digitisation deadline,” said Kuldeep Puri, a promoter of Hathway Bhawani Cabletel & Datacom.
Among the petitioners are the Puri brothers and Paresh Thakkar, both associated with Hathway Cable & Datacom. The operators are from the eastern suburbs of Mumbai like Chembur, Ghatkopar and Govandi.
“We have signed with IndiaCast and have finalised terms with OneAlliance and Media Pro Enterprise India. But the decoders have not reached us,” said Kuldeep Puri.
The petitioners want time so that new entrants would be given a fair opportunity to set up their independent ventures.
The Puri brothers are planning to set up an independent operation outside their joint venture with Hathway Cable & Datacom. They will have Ericsson as their digital head-end while Sumavision Technologies will provide the encryption solution. They own 12 per cent stake in Hathway Bhawani Cabletel & Datacom, according to data available till 30 September 2012.
“Our joint venture arrangement continues. Hathway has also agreed that we can go ahead and independently run our operations to tap other subscribers,” said Kuldeep Puri.
The government has claimed that the average percentage in the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai had touched 85 per cent and goes up to 90 per cent if direct-to-home (DTH) is taken into consideration. Mumbai, according to the government, has achieved nearly 100 per cent digitisation. These figures, however, have been hotly contested by the cable operators. Other stakeholders also find it difficult to believe the government figures, though they are not open about it.
Thakkar has said that television sets going blank from 1 November may result in a law and order problem and also create a hazard for the operators.
The petition also says that there is still no clear picture on the monthly subscription bill of cable TV subscribers after the switch over to digital reception of cable television.
The government has mandated compulsory switch over to digital delivery of cable television from 1 November in the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.
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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.
