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FIPB clears Dish TV allocation of share to Zee’s foreign collaborators
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram has finally cleared the FIPB application from Dish TV, allowing the Subhash Chandra held company to allocate shares to foreign collaborators of Zee Telefilms, consequent upon the demerger scheme approved by the Delhi High Court. “This paves the way for listing of Dish TV India Ltd (formerly known as ASC Enterprises Ltd). The listing is likely to happen sometimes this week. BSE & NSE have already granted in principle approval for listing,” a senior Dish TV executive told indiantelevision.com. The listing of Dish TV, Zee Group‘s demerged direct-to-home (DTH) business, had been being delayed as the company awaited this approval. |
Zee chairman Subhash Chandra had earlier said in an analyst meet that Dish TV would get listed either on 26th or 28th March. The clearance came finally on 9 April, though the formal announcement had been delayed further. Last reported, the board of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has approved an extension by two months up to 31 May for implementation of the Scheme of Arrangement (for Demerger of Direct Consumer Services Business Undertaking of the company in favor of Dish TV India Ltd). Zeel, which had the assets of Dish TV, has already started trading as a demerged standalone entity. |
“The approval for extension has been done “in view of the delay in the process of allotment and listing of shares of Dish TV (formerly ASC Enterprises Ltd) due to non-receipt of certain regulatory approvals. The process is expected to be completed by mid-April,” Zeel said. Dish TV is planning to pump in Rs 10 billion over the next two-and-a-half years through a mix of debt and equity. The company is looking at a 30-40 per cent debt component and is in talks to get in an equity investor |
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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.
