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CCTV honours AsiaPac broadcasters with ‘ABU prizes awards’
MUMBAI: The annual Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) prizes awards ceremony, hosted by China Central Television (CCTV-China) has presented awards to broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region in recognition of programming and broadcast engineering excellence. |
| The awards were presented by , Radio Film and Television of the People‘s Republic of China vice-minister state administration Tian Jin, ABU president Genichi Hashimoto, CCTV president Zhao Huayong, China National Radio president Yang Bo, China Radio international president Wang Gengnian and CCTV vice-president Hu En. 211 entries were received for the annual award‘s radio and TV categories. There were 147 entries for the TV categories, and 64 for radio. TV categories included drama, entertainment, children, youth, news, documentary, and sports. Additionally, a special jury prize was also kept for programmes targeting broadcasters from less developed countries which showed creativity despite the limited resources available. Categories for radio were drama, infotainment, children and youth, news, documentary, external broadcasts, and the special jury prize. |
“We are most delighted with the quality of entries this year. The interest in the radio programme category has increased over the past year and in particular, there was serious competition for the TV documentary category,” said ABU director of programmes Tatsuya Nakamura. ABU Prize for sports programmes chairperson Remesh Kumar added, “It was nice to see a whole range of broadcasters and producers from a variety of nationalities submitting their work. There was also a spectrum of presentations relating to sports from live productions, to studio presentations to documentaries.” The winners for ABU prizes 2006 are: – Radio winners for ABU prizes 2006 Drama Special commendation for drama At the very Beginning (RTHK-Radio Television Hong Kong, Hong Kong) Infotainment Children and youth News Documentary A Green Song Coming from the Desert (RTPRC/CNR-Radio and Television of the People‘s Republic of China/China National Radio, China) External broadcasts Special jury prize – TV winners for ABU prizes 2006 Drama Entertainment Children Youth News Documentary Sports Special jury prize – ABU CASBAA Unicef child‘s rights award Conquering the Darkness – The Fight Against Memories of Abuse‘, (Shinichi Sugimoto, Kansai Telecasting Corporation-Japan) – Technical Prizes ABU Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award 2006 Engineer in chief All India Radio (AIR) India, Ansu Sekhar Guin. ABU Engineering Industry Excellence Award 2006 ABU Technical Review Best Article Prize 2006 Dennis Anthony Memorial Award 2006 for outstanding news coverage by an Asiavision member Islamic republic of Iran broadcasting (IRIB) Iran. |
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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.
