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ETV Bangla to become pay channel in Kolkata CAS areas
MUMBAI: ETV Bangla, a free-to-air channel owned by Ushodaya Enterprises, is to be converted to an encrypted (pay) channel in the areas covered by Conditional Access System (Cas) in Kolkata from 1 March. The Bengali entertainment channel had gone pay in other parts of the country from 1 February and has been priced at Rs 10 as reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com.The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today issued an order to this effect, thus updating recent press releases placing the details of maximum retail prices fixed by the broadcasters in respect of CAS areas on the basis of the reporting done by them in terms of clause 7 (ii) of the Tariff Order of August 31 last.A press release said that the change had been made as the Authority had been informed when it issued its Tariff Order that the channel which was then encrypted would be made free-to-air in some of the notified areas. |
Earlier last month, two channels for children – the Pogo channel distributed by Zee Turner Limited and Toon Disney in English and in Tamil distributed by Star India – were made free-to-air channels in the areas covered by CAS in Chennai.Trai has accordingly updated its list of channels with the charge per channel.Even as demand is yet to pick up for Cas set top boxes offered by various MSOs (multi-system operators) with the more affluent residents in South Delhi preferring the DTH (Direct to Home) option, cable operators have begun charging Rs 77 plus taxes to those who are receiving FTA channels through cable. Some operators have added additional cable channels which carry films from Bollywood. |
The Zee Group had offered its Galaxee box and the Incablenet has offered its box for a special offer of Rs 1800 and Rs 1500 respectively, covering the box and around 100 channels for the whole of 2007, if consumers make up their minds within the month of January 2007. However, consumers preferred to take to the DTH systems offered by the Star-Tata owned Tata Sky or Zee-owned Dish TV both of which have also been offering attractive packages. |
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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.
