Applications
IPTV touches 2.95 mn subscribers: Point Topic study
MUMBAI: Research firm Point Topic has come out with a report on the growth of IPTV. The report states that Global IPTV subscribers reached 2.95 million as of 30 June 2006, up two-fold from 1.47 million a year earlier. Hong Kong‘s PCCW is the largest IPTV operator worldwide with 444,000 paying IPTV subscribers, followed by France Telecom with over 300,000 and Spain‘s Telefonica with 267,000 paying IPTV subscribers. |
Europe is the most important region for IPTV, displaying the strongest growth in subscriber numbers during that time-frame. |
The Asia-Pacific region had 987,000 IPTV subscribers at end-June, versus 612,000 a year earlier; Europe had 1.51 million, up from 521,000; and the Americas had 409,000, up from 267,000. Point-Topic’s research shows that the picture of IPTV development worldwide remains a complex one. The success of an operator in executing an IPTV strategy depends on many things. The most important are – the local competitive environment, in the form of cable and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite operators – the local regulatory environment. In some cases, the regulator will not permit telcos to enter the TV market, in other cases telcos are allowed to carry TV over fibre but not copper, and in other cases there are no restrictions – the type and condition of the network. Operators with a largely fibre network, such as FastWeb and PCCW, were able to deploy IPTV early. Operators with unsuitable copper networks, especially in the US, are building fibre to enable services such as IPTV |
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.
