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China to become Asia’s top pay-TV economy in 2011: Study
MUMBIA: While China has long been the world’s largest multichannel market in terms of subscribers, 2011 revenues of $7.5 billion are set to surpass Japan for the first time, ranking China as the top pay-TV market in Asia and the fifth largest in the world.
According to SNL Kagan, China’s video service revenues grew 31.1 per cent in 2010 to reach $5.8 billion with growth driven by cable digitisation and a 9 increase in pay-TV households.
Between 2010 and 2015, SNL Kagan forecasts China’s multichannel subscriber base to grow at a 5.8 per cent CAGR to reach 259.5 million households as video service revenues grow at a 20.5 per cent CAGR to $14.7 billion.
Key findings in the reports include:
•Despite IPTV gaining momentum, cable continues to dominate China’s pay-TV landscape accounting for 95.7 per cent of multichannel subscribers and 91.2 per cent of video service revenues in 2010.
•47 per cent of China’s cable subscribers had migrated to digital connections by end 2010. In 2011 a further 22.5 million households are expected to adopt digital cable service.
•HD services are gaining ground with 2.5 million cable homes adopting the set-top-boxes and packages needed to access HD programming in 2010. By 2015, 17.2 million cable households are forecast to be HD.
•VOD is gaining steam with deployments in place at major operators including: Jiangsu BC&TV Network, Shenzhen Topway, Hebei TV Network, Oriental Cable Network, Wasu Digital TV, Shaanxi BC&TV Network, Chongqing Cable Network, and Beijing Gehua.
•IPTV accounted for 3.8 per cent of China’s multichannel subscribers in 2010, with 7.4 million households generating $493.2 million in video service revenues.
•China is the world‘s largest fixed broadband market, with 31.1 per cent of total households or 126.3 million subscribing to fixed line broadband in 2010.
Regulatory forces including the State Council’s pursuit of
three-network convergence (telecom, broadcast TV and Internet) are expected to reshape China’s pay-TV landscape in the medium term as telcos and cable companies enter each other’s businesses and deploy double and triple-play packages.
In parallel, rising broadband adoption will create significant opportunities for emerging Internet video players.
As a result, SNL Kagan Media and Communications analyst Eva Zhang commented, “China’s pay-TV market continues to see exceptional growth as cable digitization and IPTV rollouts invigorate product offerings and boost average-revenue-per user. Over the coming five years we expect cable and IPTV ARPU will grow at 13.7 per cent and five per cent CAGR, respectively.”
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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.
