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Dish TV, Indiatimes.com to offer Vas services on mobile
MUMBAI: Dish TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) arm of Essel Group, has announced a tie up with Indiatimes.com, Times Group‘s internet venture, to provide mobile value added services (Vas) on TV. ‘Mobile Active‘ enables consumers to preview the mobile services on TV and download content on to their mobile handsets. The content may include ringtones, wallpapers, text alerts and contests. Says Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor, “Mobile Active is our latest initiative to drive convergence in the entertainment and communication space. Our main focus is on empowering our young customers and giving them an easy user interface to download mobile Vas products.”
“Our mobile Vas division has witnessed rapid expansion since past one year with the launch of services like 58888 IVR portal, Active Deals, etc. With this tie up we at Indiatimes 58888, will be able to enhance our customer touch points and maximize revenue opportunities,” says Times Internet Limited CEO Rishi Khiani.
Earlier, Dish TV had launched interactive Life services, wherein Dish TV customers can search for jobs, seek their life partner and plan their dream vacation by a click on their TV remote.
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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.
