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Comedy Central enhances its broadband channel Motherload
MUMBAI: US broadcaster Comedy Central is bulking up its broadband channel MotherLoad with a new serving of programming.
The network‘s new original broadband development slate will boost the line-up to include more than 20 original shows
MotherLoad was launched in November 2005. In the past six months, Comedy Central has unveiled an extensive line-up of original programming including animation, live-action narratives, topical stand-up performances and sketch comedies.
This year also marked, the development of the channel‘s first original multi-platform stand-up series Live At Gotham which premiered as a topical stand-up series on MotherLoad and is now debuting on-air on 21 July, making this the first original broadband programme to migrate to the network‘s linear channel.
One show is the 10 episode Balloonheads. This series features the adventures of various characters who have balloons for heads. Baxter & McGuire is an animated buddy-comedy. It chronicles the adventures of Baxter and McGuire, the closest of pals who never leave each other‘s side.
Good God is a sitcom like The Office about God‘s workplace environment. Moonwalk 1986 deals with the adventures of two astronauts on the moon and their banal conversations during missions.
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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.
