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Cellcast launches in Sri Lanka
MUMBAI: Cellcast Interactive India which works in the area of interactive television has begun operations in Sri Lanka with the launch of its award-winning interactive auction show Bid2Win on Derana TV. Cellcast says that Sri Lanka’s rapidly expanding mobile phone base of 5.4 million users, about 28 per cent of the country’s 19 million population, along with its advanced 3G-based mobile infrastructure, makes it a prime market for its products |
Bid2Win is the first direct participation TV programme in Sri Lanka, and the first to use premium SMS to create new revenue streams for mobile operators and broadcasters. Featuring prominently in Sri Lanka’s prime-time TV schedules, Bid2Win has received millions of responses since its launch in November 2006. Bid2Win is one of a portfolio of participation-TV formats developed by Cellcast plc and has been sold to over eight markets. During the half-hour show, audiences are shown a high-value aspirational product and encouraged to send premium-rate SMS containing a unique, low bid. The auction engine evaluates the bids and maintains the “current lowest bidder” at all times. It also responds to every bidder with the status of his/her bid. At the end of the auction period (24 hours), the final winner is declared. The bidders and current winner information is shown in real-time on TV during the half-hour show and can be seen on the Internet at all times. |
Cellcast Interactive India CEO Pankaj Thakar says, “The Cellcast Group is a pioneer in participation content and premium rate mobile entertainment services across the world. I am delighted with the substantial audiences Bid2Win has attracted on Derana TV and I’m pleased to confirm we will shortly be introducing more of these types of shows in Sri Lanka to meet local demand. “The launch of our programmes in Sri Lanka is the natural outcome of our successful operation in India. With proven formats and technologies and an experienced team based in Mumbai, we plan to export our mobile phone linked interactive television products to other South Asian markets. Mobile phone usage in the region continues to enjoy huge growth, and in today’s multi-channel television environment, audiences are hungry for new forms of entertainment.” Derana TV is a terrestrial broadcasters in Sri Lanka. Cellcast CEO Andrew Wilson says, “Sri Lanka is the twenty-ninth country in which our programmes and applications have been launched, demonstrating the effectiveness of our interactive broadcast model which is delivering both new revenue streams and the active engagement of television audiences worldwide.” In January 2007 Cellcast had launched Sumo.TV which offers India’s first end-to-end user-generated content (UGC) solution for broadcasters. The Cellcast Group’s participation TV formats are scalable from small satellite channels to major terrestrial broadcasters, suitable for all countries, languages and cultures, and are generating significant revenues for its broadcast partners in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The group‘s proprietary programming content captures new telephony-based pay-to-participate revenue streams that are independent of subscription income and advertising. Also Read |
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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.
