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HTMT invests Rs 650 million for digital cable
MUMBAI: Hinduja TMT is focussing on digital cable TV for expansion and has made investments of Rs 350 million towards this over the last four months. The company is pumping in a further Rs 300 million for purchase of digital set-top boxes as it plans to launch digital service in new cities. HTMT currently offers digital cable TV in Mumbai and Delhi. “We have put in around Rs 350 million since December and have ordered for fresh set-top boxes which would cost us a further Rs 300 million,” says the company‘s director-in-charge Ravi Mansukhani. |
IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL), which houses the consolidated cable and media businesses of HTMT, is also planning to launch digital cable TV service in Bangalore. “We have installed a digital head-end in Bangalore and would start testing soon,” says Mansukhani.. The service would be extended to Mysore later with a hook up from the Bangalore digital head-end through the fibre optic route, he adds. The other cities earmarked for digitalisation are Ahmedabad and Baroda. “We plan to have a digital head-end in Ahmedabad and link up Baroda through fibre optic. We have already upgraded the network and once Bangalore stabilises we will launch in these cities,” says Mansukhani. |
IMCL is looking at alliances with cable TV operators to expand in new territories. While it will offer support to cable networks for digital rollout and set-top boxes, operators can take exclusive care of their analogue business. “All our expansion will be on the digital side of the business,” says Mansukhani. Hinduja TMT Ltd, which has 63 per cent stake in IMCL, has started trading again after spinning off its ITES-BPO functions into a separate company. The company holds cash of Rs 5.11 billion and owns a 47-acre property in Bangalore. It has a paid-up capital of Rs 205.3 million and networth of about Rs 5.87 billion as on 31 December 2006. |
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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.
