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Mumbai leads with 95% digitisation
MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has revealed that 68 per cent of Cable TV Digitisation has already been achieved in the four metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Only six weeks are now left for the complete switch over from analogue to digital delivery of television channels in the four metros for the first phase of digitisation.
City wise data shows that Mumbai leads the progress in digitisation with 95 per cent homes digitised followed by Kolkata with 67 per cent. In Delhi, 53 per cent of the cable homes have switched to digital and in Chennai, 49 per cent.
Taking into consideration that the TV penetration is about 80 per cent on an average in four metro cities, and there are 2.55 million DTH subscribers and 4.67 million Set Top Boxes have already been installed, the percentage of digitization in four metros is 68 per cent. This includes 20 per cent provision for multiple TVs in homes and TVs in offices, the MIB said in a statement.
The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act 2011 has made it mandatory for switch over of the existing Analogue Cable Television Network to Digital Addressable System (DAS) by December 2014 in the entire country in four phases. In the first phase, four metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai have to switch to digital cable by 31 October.
MIB said it has been constantly reviewing the preparedness of the industry for the Digital switch over. Installation of Set Top Boxes in Cable TV Homes is one of the most crucial pre-conditions for the Digital Switch over.
The review of the data has been done by taking into consideration the Census data of 2011 with respect to total households, TV penetration, households having television sets. The data has been further corroborated with the data received from the Multi System Operators and DTH operators.
According to 2011 census, there are 10.37 million households in four metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata & Chennai. TV penetration in four metros is 80 per cent as per census.
The I&B Ministry has also launched a publicity campaign in electronic and print media to take awareness to the doorsteps of people.
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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.
