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Innovation key to driving entertainment consumption on mobile: Experts
MUMBAI: While mobile companies spend a lot of time on product innovation and brainstorming on new ideas, they should look at innovating on the service front as well to build entertainment consumption on the mobile.
The interface is equally important. This was one of the points made at the Mobile Innovation Conference organised by the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
The session was ‘Refreshing mEntertainemt – Five Steps to be taken’. The speakers were Hungama Digital Media Entertainment COO Albert Almeida, Idea Cellular senior VP, head Vas, mobile commerce and long distance Narayanan SP, Mauj Mobile CEO Badri Sanjeevi and Vuclip VP, BD, MD India, Middle East Salman Hussain.
Almeida made the point about innovation being important in both products and services. “Pricing is an innovation. Different models can co-exist. Promotional channels can also be innovative. It is interesting that while the mobile is a personalised device the services are not personalised. It is important that the stakeholders understand consumers better,” he said.
Music, video and gaming will continue to drive entertainment on the mobile, he added.
Almedida touched on the point of government regulation saying that the industry hasn’t been responsible and mature enough to self regulate. “In television we told the government that we would put a mechanism in place to self regulate content. In mobile too we need to adopt best practices that are in the best interests of the consumer.”
Narayan noted that there is interest in launching app stores by different parties including operators. “Our aim is to address a broad spectrum of consumers. App stores of OEMs will co-exist with app stores of mobile operators,” he remarked.
According to Narayan, commercial models will evolve. Things are easier if there is pull based content. If content is uniquely available, then consumers will pay. While costs are growing for unique content, they are also coming down for non unique content.
The issue of revenue sharing was also discussed at the session. While controlling cost is an issue, revenue is a bigger factor. Revenue will grow if a company is able to manage a high level of consumer engagement. Companies have to see what will grow their business in the long term.
Hussain said that it is important to keep in mind the consumer’s criteria in choosing a service and product. That criteria could rest on many things including what is cheapest. Video consumption on Vuclip used to be search based. Now it is increasingly based on sharing. So videos of Bindra, Nehwal winning Olympic medals get heavy traffic, he added.
Applications
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.
