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Cellcast launches Sumo.TV in India
MUMBAI: Cellcast Interactive India has launched Sumo.TV, a pioneering product offering India’s first end-to-end user-generated content (UGC) solution for broadcasters. “Sumo.TV invites individuals to share their personal or creative videos that could be featured on prime time television”, said Cellcast Plc, UK, vice president Mahesh Ramachandra. Sumo.TV has already been launched in the UK and China markets. “In the UK market we have started a 24-hour channel with the content contributed solely by viewers. This exceeds what even YouTube or MySpace can provide for their communities,” Ramachandra added. All content can be contributed through the newly-launched website, at www.sumo.in, where individuals can view, share and manage their own content. |
Said Cellcast Interactive India CEO Pankaj Thakar, “UGC reflects a fundamental change in audience behavior, especially in the 18-34 age group in India where most of them are spending time online or on mobile creating and sharing their own content. Sumo.TV offers them an outlet to share their content with millions through the power of television.” “Importantly, the content contributors can earn revenue whenever their videos are watched or shown on television,” he added. Every time a user’s content is downloaded by another user, shown on television, or streamed on mobile services, he will receive a percentage of received revenues. Effectively, Sumo.TV users are being invited to set up their own mini-channels. Sumo.TV, said Thakar, brings together a compelling consumer proposition, offering users new ways of finding that ‘15 minutes’ of fame, new ways of making money from personal content and new ways of expressing themselves and making friends. In the U.K., the Sumo.TV website (www.sumo.tv) alone has an average of 80000 unique visitors per day. |
“India is experiencing a truly dynamic phase in media technology convergence and we, at Cellcast, are delighted to launch the revolutionary product Sumo.TV in the market that will help us derive the benefits over a long period. Cellcast India plans to air the video content on local television and are currently in talks with a number of television channels about the same,” he added. All the best videos submitted to the website or via mobile phone are selected by trained staff and broadcast on Sumo.TV channels and programmes. Broadcasters who license Sumo.TV have immediate access to all the components of next-generation UGC programming including original user-generated content, UGC-oriented interactive TV formats, 3D video jukebox, content management system and production tools Video-sharing and community website mobile services. These tools and services allow a broadcaster to create anything from an hour-long weekly television show to an entire UGC-driven 24/7 television channel. |
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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.
