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ITV Granada to launch on Airtel Digital TV
MUMBAI: TV Studios Global Entertainment has announced new carriage deals for its entertainment channel ITV Granada, with pay TV platforms in India, the Middle East and South Korea adding the channel.
It has done a deal with Bharti Airtel‘s DTH platform Airtel Digital TV and will join it later this year. The channel will launch in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan.
The agreements also include the launch of ITV Granada in the Middle East via the OSN DTH network. The channel will make its debut later this year to subscribers throughout the region, reaching territories such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt and the UAE.
Finally, South Korea‘s cable operator CJ HelloVision has signed to broadcast ITV Granada via its “CJ Tving” service which provides 140 channels viewable on PCs, smartphones, tablets and smart TVs.
ITV Studios Global Entertainment senior VP Sales Asia Pacific Augustus Dulgarot commented, “The high-quality line-up of UK-produced programming available on ITV Granada is attracting huge interest in Asia and the Middle East. Since its launch the channel‘s reach has rapidly increased throughout the region and we are delighted to sign these new agreements which will bring ITV Granada to a range of key territories. It is an exciting time in the channel‘s development and we welcome OSN, Bharti Airtel and CJ HelloVision to our suite of affiliates.”
ITV Granada is home to entertainment, drama, comedy, reality and talk shows from the UK. Content includes ‘Coronation Street‘, drama ‘Emmerdale‘ and entertainment shows such as ‘I‘m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!‘, ‘Popstar to Operastar‘ and ‘Dancing on Ice‘.
Carried on platforms throughout Asia including MioTV Singapore, Astro Malaysia, Now TV Hong Kong and Star Hub Singapore, the channel now reaches more than 5.5 million households in more than 15 countries.
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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.
