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HBO US takes podcast route to push new shows
MUMBAI: US broadcaster HBO has announced that two shows Entourage and Deadwood are back again.
Fans can go ‘on location‘ for footage, cast interviews and other original features via www.HBO.com/podcasts or Apple’s iTunes Music Store – all for free.
Viewers will also be able to go behind-the-scenes of HBO’s new comedy series Lucky Louie. It stars Louis C.K. as head of a blue collar family. Then there is Dane Cook’s Tourgasm, a docu-style comedy series that follows the rising stand-up comic during his college tour last spring.
These new editions join the other HBO podcasts already existing. These include video and audio clips for The Sopranos, Rome, Big Love, Real Time with Bill Maher as well as select HBO Films, documentaries, sports shows, and HBO Latino’s Habla y Habla and El Perro y El Gato.
HBO VP, marketing and strategic partnerships Steve Pamon says, “The additional content for iPods give fans more exposure to their favorite HBO programs, characters and actors as well as introduces them to our newest shows.
“We launched the site several months ago and have already seen incredible success, most recently hitting the 1 million download milestone for Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Fans can visit the HBO.com site or the ‘HBO Room‘ on iTunes for the latest mix of free video and audio clips that will role over time:
For Entourage HBO is offering recaps from seasons one and two. These revisit important moments and reconnects fans with major characters. There will also be an insiders scoop on the series. There will also be clips from the new season. There are similar features for Deadwood.
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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.
