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DTH ops launch price war on STBs
MUMBAI: For DTH operators, the festive season price war is on. Soon after Tata Sky slashed its set-top box (STB) price to Rs 999, Airtel digital TV has followed suit.
A late entrant in the India‘s highly competitive DTH space, Airtel digital TV has launched two new offers for its new subscribers and slashed the price of its STB to Rs 999.
In one offer, customers can purchase a new Airtel digital TV connection for Rs 999 and get started with an initial recharge of just Rs 200.
The second offer, bundled with subscription, works out to an effective pricing of Rs 806 for the STBs. The customer has to purchase connection for Rs 1690, but need not recharge it for the next four months. They would be entitled to four months free subscription to the Economy Pack (around 150 popular channels, worth Rs 200+taxes).
Announcing the offers, Bharti Airtel CMO-DTH services Sugato Banerji said, “We believe that these two new entry offers will provide yet another compelling reason for customers to join the growing Airtel digital TV family. By significantly bring down the total cost of ownership these offers will make it more easier for more customers, to move to the next generation home entertainment options like Airtel digital TV.”
Airtel digital TV claims a subscriber base of 3.8 million customers.
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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.
