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iStream.com bags Internet rights for India-Sri Lanka series
MUMBAI: Online video service iStream.com has acquired the exclusive live streaming and video on demand rights for India for the Micromax Cup India-Sri Lanka series starting 21 July.
The Indian team swings back into action after four months and will be pitted against the Lankans in 5 ODIs and 1 T20. Sri Lanka is one of India’s favourite hunting grounds with a record of 67 wins out of the total 76 played.
The deal was signed with Sporty Solutionz, which has got the Internet and mobile rights for this series from Ten Sports. All the 6 day-night matches starting at 2:30 pm will be streamed live on iStream.com, and will also be available on demand for a month after the tournament.
iStream founder, CEO Radhakrishnan Ramachandran said, “After a relatively long lay off, Indian cricket fans will be delighted to see their heroes back in action. We saw tremendous response to Uefa Euro 2012, which we streamed exclusively in India. This series will further strengthen our sports vertical on iStream.com. We plan to bring in more such exclusive partnerships in the online video space”.
Apart from the matches, iStream viewers can catch special programming around the event, including pre and post-match highlights, team statistics, player profiles, trivia and other related clips.
Integrating social features, iStream will allow Facebook users to live-chat on the site while the matches are played and “like” or “tweet” any clip or statistics.
Sporty Solutionz CEO Ashish Chadha said, “iStream is the pioneer in the internet streaming space and I am sure with their unique technology delivery platform live-streaming of the matches will be altogether a great experience for the Indian cricket fans.”
iStream.com adds hundreds of new videos every day to its library of over a 100,000 clips of premium News Bulletins, TV Shows & Movies in five Indian languages from over 50 channels. It also streams 26 news channels – in English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam – live 24/7.
Last year iStream.com raised $ 5 million from global private equity fund SAIF Partners. It was SAIF’s first investment in the online video space. The $1.25 billion fund counts online travel services from MakeMyTrip and local search company Just Dial among its top portfolio companies.
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.
