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DTH: Madras HC stay on levy of entertainment tax
MUMBAI: In what can be termed as a relief for the direct-to-home (DTH) industry, the Madras High Court has put a stay on the Tamil Nadu state government‘s decision of imposing a 30 per cent entertainment tax on the DTH services in the State.
The Tamil Nadu Government had passed a Bill in September, this year, to levy 30 per cent entertainment tax effective 27 September. However, the leading DTH operator Dish TV had filed a petition in the High Court contesting the decision.
Dish TV had said that the government‘s decision is discriminatory and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, as the cable network is exempt from such a levy.
Dish TV said in a statement that the High Court announced the petition challenging the validity of the levy on DTH services was taken up for hearing by Justice Chitra Venkatraman.
The order restrained the Department of Entertainment Tax from initiating any further proceedings – new or by way of the show-cause notice dated 14 November – and from recovering taxes. It directed Dish TV to furnish tax returns and deposit a security amount that equals half of the tax liability for a month in cash.
Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel said, “We welcome the stay. Entertainment tax is a burden on the common man for whom TV viewing is the cheapest form of entertainment and information.”
The Jayalalitha government‘s decision to impose 30 per cent entertainment tax on DTH service providers would have helped Arasu Cable Corporation‘s activities as the DTH consumers may have to end up paying more.
The four southern states constitute 22 per cent of India‘s 38 million DTH population. Tamil Nadu is a very low ARPU (average revenue per user) market and with opportunities opening up for DTH after the launch of state-owned Arasu Cable, the steep entertainment tax could act as a deterrent.
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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.
