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Connected TVs to outsell console game first time this year
MUMBAI: The worldwide sales of connected TVs will surpass games consoles for the first time in 2011, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media.
While Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony will sell 37 million consoles this year, consumers will buy 52 million connected TVs from the likes of Samsung, Sony and LG.
Informa Telecoms and Media analyst Andrew Ladbrook said, “The market for connected devices-connected TVs, connected Blu-ray players, games consoles, media-streaming devices and hybrid set-top boxes – is continuing to grow globally, as consumers seek to access services such as Netflix and iPlayer via their televisions. In 2016, 1.8 billion in-home video devices-including tablets-will be sold, an increase of almost 800% from today. And by this time, 70 per cent of all in-home video devices sold will be able to connect to the Internet.Until now, many online video services were launched primarily with the game console in mind, mainly because console users innately understand how to connect these devices and demand interactive video services from them. However, this is beginning to change as connected TVs bring these services to a mainstream audience.”
The largest consumer electronics manufacturers stand to make the biggest gains, in particular the big three: Samsung, LG and Sony.
However, TV manufacturers will be faced with a conflict of interest. On the one hand, they must build and support a platform that works across both the latest and legacy devices, effectively reducing the differences between the two – and, on the other, they must persuade users that the latest iteration is a superior device and worth purchasing. Only if they do this successfully will CE manufacturers be able to seize the balance of power away from traditional video aggregators.
But the big three will not have it all their own way. “Just as Sony was toppled by the emergence of Samsung and LG, so these established companies should be wary of Chinese manufacturers such as Hisense and TCL.These manufacturers are following the high-volume low-price model laid down by Samsung and are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries of connected TVs as the Chinese market burgeons to sales of over 47 million in 2016,” adds Ladbrook.
The main losers will be media-streaming devices, which Informa does not believe will move far beyond the niche status they currently occupy. This has major implications for players that have launched standalone boxes, not least Apple. Informa believes that if Apple is to win in the connected home, it must launch a TV, or at least turn its Apple TV device into something more than a convenient way to access video via iTunes.
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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.
