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ESPN Star Sports signs up Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV for HD feed
MUMBAI: In what could mark a serious push for high definition technology in the country, ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has signed deals with Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV to bring to their viewers the football World Cup and Wimbledon tennis grand slam in HD mode.
ESS had initially done a deal with Dish TV, India‘s leading direct-to-home (DTH) operator.
Earlier, Tata Sky’s move to obtain high definition feed of the soccer World Cup from ESS was turned down by the Delhi High Court. “Tata Sky is not yet ready to provide HD channels as the company lacked the infrastructure that is required,” the court said. This basically forced Tata Sky to launch their HD service in a hurry.
ESPN Software India MD RC Venkateish told Indiantelevision.com the deal is just for these two events.
“Subsequently, we will decide on what to do with our other properties like the Champions Twenty20 League. If there is sufficient demand, we will offer it in high definition. It allows the operators to offer top notch sports content,” he said.
DTH operators are set for a cut-throat price war on the HD front with Tata Sky offering the set-top box at Rs 2599. Now with sports broadcaster ESS widening its HD content, they will need to push their HD services more aggressively to expand the market for this premium product.
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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.
