Applications
China will lead Asia-Pacific charge to higher-end set-top boxes
MUMBAI: Consumers in the Asia-Pacific region will increasingly opt for higher-end set-top boxes that support personal video recorder (PVR) and high-definition features, according to a new study from ABI Research. This trend will be driven to a large degree by China, which will see the region‘s largest increase in subscriber numbers. |
The study notes that the Asia-Pacific pay-TV industry still has considerable room for growth, especially in countries like China and India, where the base of potential customers is huge but there is still relatively low pay-TV and digital penetration. For instance, in the digital cable TV and telco TV arenas, China is expected to take the lead in terms of actual shipment counts, with approximately 75 million and 9 million box shipments, respectively, by 2012. China will also lead in subscriber growth rates, fueled by growing affluence and increased consumer spending on TV and video services. Chinese consumers will also invest in technologically more advanced set-top boxes in order to view digital broadcasts over their traditional analogue TV sets. |
ABI Research‘s latest study on the Asia-Pacific set-top box market focuses on five main markets in the region — Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and India — a mix of mature, maturing, and developing markets in the pay-TV and digital penetration arena. The study addresses market conditions and set-top box equipment deployment for the four video platforms, cable TV (CATV), direct broadcast satellite (DBS), digital terrestrial (DTT), and telco TV (IPTV). It also examines operator—vendor relationships which tend to vary among these four platforms. For some, it is a fairly closed system where operators usually keep to one or a handful of set-top box vendors for support; for others, there is greater openness where consumers are allowed to purchase set-top boxes independent of operators. |
Applications
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.
