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Casbaa gets a boost from developing markets
MUMBAI: Continuing to expand the reach and diversity of its membership, Casbaa has welcomed Corporate Members VTC from Vietnam and Sky Net of Myanmar, as well as Hong Kong‘s TMS and the Motion Picture Association. Patron Member upgrades have also been registered by satellite operator Eutelsat of Paris and Sky News Australia in Sydney.
Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies said, “The Casbaa membership roster increasingly reflects the growing importance of emerging markets such as Vietnam, which saw a 74 per cent pay-TV growth between 2009 and 2011, and Myanmar, where the TV advertising market has been growing at 49 per cent per annum over the last few years”.
VTC Digital Television Station was launched in 2005 with nation-wide coverage and now has 20 self-produced channels plus a bouquet of international channels broadcast via satellite, DTT, analogue, IPTV, Internet and cable television.
Launched in 2010, Sky Net is a Direct to Home and Multiplay Service system provided nationwide in Myanmar.
Hong Kong-based TMS designs, builds and manages mobile marketing and commerce campaigns linked to traditional advertising campaigns.
The Motion Picture Association serves as an advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries.
Eutelsat provides transponder capacity on 23 satellites delivering more than 2,500 television channels to over 120 million cable and satellite homes around the world.
Sky News of Australia delivers news coverage as well as an extensive line-up of national affairs programming and is a leader in digital news production and delivery.
Twiston Davies added, “As the multichannel TV industry continues to grow (and new markets emerge as major players in the region), Casbaa‘s core directive to Inform, Represent and Connect plays a vital role in the continued success of all our member organisations.”
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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.
