Applications
Cox launches cable TV app for iPad that learns what users like to watch
MUMBAI: Cable companies have been rolling out their own apps for years now.
But Cox Communications‘ new Contour experience, which incorporates a tablet app, aims to go beyond the usual offerings with a suggestion engine that learns what you like to watch, viewer profiles for up to eight people and the ability to watch different channels on the tablet and television.
Cox director product marketing Bruce Berkinshaw said the company didn‘t construct Contour to fit its own notions of how to surf cable channels. Instead, the app was designed around how customers want to use it.
Support for other tablets is expected by the end of the year.
Cox Communications unveiled Contour earlier this month nationwide, and the app was downloaded more than 10,000 times in the first week.
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The app, which is designed to work on the same network as the DVR, works by overlaying a transparent menu over a live feed of a preview channel.
The main menu offers access to on-demand content, links to channel-based apps like CNN or ESPN and a selection of suggested channels based on the preferences and viewing habits of the person using the Contour app.
Users can search for shows using a traditional program grid, a keyword search or a scrolling list of channels near the current preview channel. Tapping on a program will instantly bring up more information about it as well as the options to record it on the DVR or add it to a watch list.
The currently playing channel on the app can even be changed like a traditional remote control by swiping up or down. When the user is ready, the app can change the TV‘s channel to match the channel on the tablet.
The new DVRs can record up to six shows at once and have two terabytes of storage, or 1,000 hours of programming. Berkinshaw said the DVRs can be networked, allowing customers with two networked DVRs to record up to 12 channels at once.
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.
