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Hulu launches subscription service in Japan
MUMBAI: Online TV service Hulu has launched a new subscription service in Japan, a move that marks the first international expansion for the company.
Starting at launch and in the weeks following, Hulu‘s first-of-its-kind service will offer entertainment fans in Japan unlimited instant access to hundreds of premium feature films like Pirates of the Caribbean, Armageddon, Men in Black, Troy, and As Good As It Gets and more; and thousands of episodes from previous seasons of TV shows including 24, Bones, Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives, Fringe, Grey‘s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Heroes, LOST, NCIS, Private Practice, Prison Break and Ugly Betty and more.
Subscribers will be able to instantly access these shows and movies on demand on a wide variety of Internet connected devices including connected TVs, PCs, tablets and smartphones, without advertising, for JPY 1,480 per month.
Hulu senior VP of international Johannes Larcher said, “Since launching Hulu in 2008 in the U.S., we have been working hard to bring our service to consumers outside our home market and become a global brand. Today, we are taking a first, but important step to make good on our aspiration to serve customers all over the world”.
For the launch of the subscription service in Japan, Hulu has secured licensing deals with top film studios and TV networks including CBS, NBCUniversal International Television Distribution, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company (Japan) featuring content from Disney/ABC Television Group and The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Additional content will be rapidly and continually added to the service, including Japanese-produced content and content from across the Asian region.
With the launch of Hulu in Japan, subscribers will be able to instantly watch thousands of U.S. TV episodes and hundreds of feature films on Internet connected living room devices including TVs, Blu-ray players, and gaming and entertainment consoles, as well as PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
For the launch, Hulu has entered into an exclusive mobile marketing partnership with Japan‘s largest mobile network, NTT Docomo. Details of this relationship will be unveiled shortly. Subscribers in Japan will be able to use Hulu on any mobile carrier or internet service provider on supported devices. There are no long-term contract and no minimum subscription commitments.
Hulu is offering Japanese users one free month to try the Hulu subscription service.
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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.
