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IPL online ratings grows by 56%
MUMBAI: The IPL ratings might have fallen beyond expectations on television, but the response to online streaming of the matches has a different story to tell altogether.
The tournament‘s viewership on official YouTube channel and Indiatimes‘ IPL channel has seen an upward swing registering a 56 per cent growth over last year with the first week of the tournament, including the opening ceremony, recording 13.7 million views, as against 8.8 million views last year, according to Times Internet, the digital rights holder of IPL.
In contrast, the television viewership of the first six matches of IPL went down 12 per cent garnering average viewership of 3.76 TVR, compared to 4.63 TVR last year.
Coming to online viewership, New Delhi and Bangalore lead the viewership with 14 per cent each, with Mumbai coming in a close second at 13 per cent.
Among the matches registering maximum online views include the ones played on 10 April between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, and Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings. The day saw a total of 2.15 million views on the site, which included 0.7 million unique visitors.
Almost 0.6 million viewers have enjoyed the match action on their mobiles over the last seven days on Apalya mobile TV platform across Airtel, Idea and Vodafone which is double the traffic registered last year, Times Internet said.
Times Internet Ltd CEO Rishi Khiani said, “Last year, we delivered a superior viewing experience and garnered significant audiences. This year, our emphasis is on higher interactivity and our strong social focus has paid off right at the start, becoming a sign of things to come over the season.”
Google India head of media sales Praveen Sharma said, “We’re really excited to see the continuous growth in online viewer ship of IPL. This is the third year of our association with live streaming of IPL and the viewer ship numbers clearly indicate the distributed media consumption pattern of the Indian consumers.”
Earlier, Times Internet had roped in Coca-Cola, Samsung and Maruti as premium sponsors while Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hero Honda, Citi Bank, E Bay, and Karbonn Mobiles and Hindustan Unilever had come on board as associate sponsors.
While premium sponsors are paying between Rs 35 to Rs 50 million, the associate sponsors have forked out between Rs 15 to Rs 30 million.
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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.
