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Casbaa forms new board of advisors
MUMBAI: As part of its 20th anniversary initiatives, Casbaa has announced the formation of a new Board of Advisors to ensure the association retains access to the experience and collective wisdom of executives who have previously served the Asia Pacific multichannel TV industry (and Casbaa) to great effect.
Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez said, “It is crucial to preserve the continuity of knowledge and experience from key industry leaders. The Casbaa Board of Advisors will provide the opportunity to create a living repository of information accrued from the very people who have been instrumental in establishing today‘s multi-billion dollar pay-TV industry in Asia.”
Membership to the Board of Advisors will be strictly by “Invitation Only” from the Board of Directors and is applicable to retired Members of the Board of Directors and executives who have served five years or more on the Casbaa Council of Governors. The Advisory group will meet at least once every calendar year in an informal environment at the invitation of the Association.
“As Casbaa moves into its 21st year, it is imperative that we stay connected to the leadership that has brought our industry and the Association to where it is now – the preeminent voice for the multichannel TV industry in Asia,” added Fenez.
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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.
