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Industry concerned over govt’s intent on digitization
NEW DELHI: While broadcasters and direct-to-home (DTH) service providers agreed that digitisation would drive the next phase of growth in India, they could not come to an agreement as to how this could be achieved.
Addressing the panel on ‘Building the Digital Eco System‘ at the Sixth India Digital Networks Summit here, Star India CEO Uday Shankar noted that it was time for all stakeholders including broadcasters, multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) to sit together and draw out a roadmap of the country‘s overall digital ecosystem.
He regretted that there were circles that opposed digitisation even as broadcasters stood to lose Rs 15 billion in carriage fees. He also hit hard at the regulator stating that while the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) kept talking about the digital highway, it had only discouraged digitisation.
Voicing similar concerns, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd MD and CEO Punit Goenka stated that since all parties were only concerned with their own interest, no efforts were being made for the welfare of the industry.
However, Bharti Telemedia (Airtel Digital TV) CEO Ajai Puri opined that with India being a large and diverse country, the business models of each had to be different.
He said, “Digitisation will bring transparency. Once everyone pays for what he uses, the whole value chain will reap the benefits.”
Sony Entertainment (now Multi Screen Media) CEO Man Jit Singh pointed out that once digitisation is in place, there will be more money to invest on content. He stressed on the necessity of two revenue streams – advertising as well as distribution. “Broadcasters have not been able to scale up because of price caps and would be able to do so only once they get revenues,” he said.
He also showed apprehension at not being given a level playing field in the recent tariff order from Trai, which had fixed channel pricing for digital and addressable systems at 35 per cent of non-addressable cable.
Goenka added that the regulator‘s decision was arbitrary and unfair and was taking the industry backwards instead of tackling the issue of non-addressability.
Nevertheless, Puri added that the problem had been created by the industry. “We have to work aggressively towards digitisation, making it a single point agenda”, he added.
Meanwhile Shankar said, “We should not get carried away with the talk of technology. We must exploit the cable and DTH fully first.”
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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.
