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If transponder space unavailable on Insat-4B, Sun might opt for Measat3
MUMBAI: A day after the unfortunate failure of the GSLV-F02 launch rocket carrying the Insat-4C communication satellite, it is not just India‘s space establishment that has been forced to relook its plans.
For Kalanithi Maran‘s southern broadcast network Sun Group, the mishap could well mean that the launch of its direct-to-home (DTH) service sees a change of satellite operator. Sun TV had booked seven high-power Ku-band transponders, six for DTH and one for DSNG (digital satellite news gathering), of the total 12 carried by the Indian Space Research Organisation‘s Insat-4C.
The big question now is this: If Isro is not able to provide Ku-band transponder space for his DTH venture Sun Direct, will Maran opt for an alternative satellite like Malaysia‘s soon-to-be-launched Measat-3?
Maran already has a running relationship with Measat‘s parent company Astro, having stitched a deal last year for a $25 million joint venture to originate, aggregate and distribute television programming and channels for a global audience. Measat Broadcast Network Systems is a subsidiary of Astro company which has a 20-year exclusive licence for DTH transmission in Malaysia.
Measat has scheduled a September launch for the Measat-3 satellite. The satellite will be shot into space atop a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Measat-3 will have 24 Ku-band transponders and has been designed to provide capability for data services and DTH applications in Malaysia, Indonesia, India and China.
Maran, however, says he has got intimation from Isro that he will be provided with Ku-band transponders at the earliest. “Isro has assured us of providing alternate transponders to meet our DTH requirements. We have not made any request to Isro for taking space on Measat-3. We were, in any case, looking at a time frame between October-November,” the Sun Group promoter tells Indiantelevision.com.
Has Maran been told which satellite will provide him the Ku-band transponders? “We will know from Isro in three to four days,” he says.
For DTH providers who want to operate from foreign satellites, Isro will have to provide the approval and lease it out for them. Dish TV, for instance, is on NSS-6 with Isro‘s backing as required by regulatory norms.
For Isro‘s commercial arm Antrix Corporation, hiring of foreign transponder space for a short time could be a possibility. There is a precedence of this having happened in the past.
According to a report in Hindu Businessline, when Insat-2D failed, Isro bought transponder space on an Arabsat satellite. Isro has also provided temporary leases on Thaicom, GE-Americom, and even now on NSS, Businessline reported.
At the moment though, Isro has not received any fresh proposal from Maran‘s DTH company, Sun Direct TV, to lease out a satellite for them. Says Isro contract management and legal services director SB Iyer, “Sun has not asked us for a foreign satellite yet. The failure of Insat-4C is a brief setback which has put us behind 4-6 months. But we are recasting our programme by which we can accelerate the Ku-band capacity growth. We may be putting up larger satellites to boost the capacity.”
So will Sun get space on Insat-4B, which is meant for Doordarshan‘s DTH service like DD Direct Plus? “We haven‘t taken any decision yet. DD, which is on NSS-6, has a low requirement,” says Iyer. Sun has asked up to eight transponders for its DTH service.
Even if Sun gets Insat-4B, the launch of the satellite is expected to take place early next year. The commercial operations can, thus, commence only by the first quarter of next fiscal. “We have the flexibility to accommodate Sun. It is too early to comment on the steps we are going to take,” says Iyer.
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Insat-4C satellite launch fails; Sun‘s DTH plans hit
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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.
