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Intelsat rocks Live Earth with global HD distribution
MUMBAI: Satellite service provider Intelsat and Live Earth have announced a relationship that will enable Intelsat to join Live Earth as the official satellite capacity sponsor. The music event takes place on 7 July 2007, Live Earth will use Intelsat to beam global entertainment headliners such as Madonna, Akon, Missy Higgins, Kumi Koda, UB40, The Police, Shakira, Joss Stone and Snoop Dogg to an estimated two billion viewers worldwide in an effort to raise awareness about the climate crisis. As the official satellite capacity sponsor, Intelsat will use its industry-leading network of satellite and terrestrial facilities for the collection and distribution of the Live Earth concerts in standard and high definition video formats. The worldwide series of concerts will boast 24 hours of music across seven continents from eight cities, and will feature performances by more than 150 of the world‘s top musical artists. Live Earth founder and producer Kevin Wall says, “Live Earth has the potential to be the world‘s largest high definition event, so our production standard requirements are obviously going to be complex and widespread. Intelsat‘s turnkey transmission services provide us the capacity we need to successfully broadcast this event around the world. The high definition experience that will be delivered during the event will ultimately engage a global audience and hopefully create a movement of change.” Intelsat CEO David McGlade says, “Intelsat‘s mission is to connect the planet Earth, and we believe our involvement with the Live Earth concert is consistent with that mission. Our role also showcases the high definition experience and the power of our global fleet. “With globalisation of content and high definition being among the top trends in our industry, customers choose Intelsat for worldwide transmissions of programs and special events.” During the 24-hour event, Intelsat will deliver the standard and high definition programme feeds from the eight international venues (New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Hamburg) to the Live Earth production center in London, England. The content contribution process will utilise satellites, fiber and teleport facilities throughout Intelsat‘s global network. From London, the post-production world feed for the Live Earth concert will be transmitted across Intelsat‘s GlobalConnex network to three of Intelsat‘s teleports. Intelsat‘s teleports then will distribute the Live Earth global feed to the world‘s leading video neighborhoods which reside on Intelsat‘s satellite fleet and to points-of-presence for Internet distribution. As a result, worldwide music fans and technology aficionados will be witness to one of the largest entertainment events in history. Furthermore, viewers in Europe and North America will enjoy 24 hours of live high definition programming of unprecedented scope and scale. Intelsat‘s portfolio of GlobalConnex services provides customers with a single-sourced global distribution network optimized for seamless delivery of such large-scale events. Intelsat is the only global satellite operator to provide coverage of the Olympic Games since 1968. From the World Cup soccer championships to the NBA Finals, Intelsat supports broadcasters of major events by providing the most powerful ground and space infrastructure, specifically optimised to meet their needs.
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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.
