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DTH ops prepare for 3D HD STBs
MUMBAI: The direct-to-home (DTH) operators in India are making their high definition (HD) set-top boxes 3D ready, hoping to tap a new wave of premium customers.
Airtel digital TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) service from Bharti Airtel, today said it has completed the process to make all its HD STBs 3D ready.
The company, which offers HD STB for Rs 3190 with a three- month subscription, will not charge extra for the 3D facility.
“We have completed backend support to enable 3D content on the HD STBs. Now all the existing and new subscribers of HD service will be able to view the 3D content on their 3D enabled TV with the help of stereoscopic glasses,” Bharti Airtel CMO, Airtel Digital TV Sugato Banerji said.
However, none of the Indian broadcasters have any 3D content. Recently, Star India CEO Uday Shankar said flagship channel Star Plus is 3D ready and once the infrastructure is up, viewers will be able to sample it.
Other mainline broadcasters have not worked on 3D content as they feel the market is not prepared for it yet.
“Even if we don‘t have content yet, we are ready for the future,” Banerji said. “We have learnt from the TV manufacturers that every month close to 500 3D ready TV sets get sold and 10-12,000 households have 3D TV sets.”
Videocon d2h has already launched its 3D ready HD service. But as there is no content available, they have one active HD 3D channel on which subscribers can experience the 3D content, a senior executive said.
Dish TV is also testing the 3D technology, Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor said. “All HD boxes are 3D ready. We are testing the technology.”
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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.
