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Network18, LinkedIn ink co- marketing agreement
MUMBAI: Network18 has entered into a co-marketing agreement with the professional networking platform LinkedIn for the Indian market.
The alliance is aimed at exploiting content integration and brand building opportunities between LinkedIn and synergistic brands within the Network18 stable.
The alliance, led by CNBC-TV18 and Moneycontrol, will focus on online and on-air initiatives in the areas of business news and information, issue-based research, personal finance and professional networking.
The alliance initially includes integration of business and finance content from Moneycontrol on LinkedIn and community-generated content from LinkedIn on CNBC-TV18.
TV18 business media director Ajay Chacko says, “We believe that this partnership will create value because of the substantial content and audience synergies resultant from a combination of LinkedIn and Network18 brands. We see a great opportunity in jointly developing offerings for various key business communities including corporate leaders, professionals, SME‘s and management students.”
The bipartite agreement is the first media partnership announced by LinkedIn in India and is part of the company‘s strategy to growing brand awareness among professionals in the country.
Says LinkedIn India country head Hari Krishnan, “We believe that this alliance will be instrumental in strengthening LinkedIn‘s presence in India and driving awareness about key issues amongst India‘s professional audiences.”
The partnership has been flagged with the launch of the ‘CNBC-TV18 LinkedIn‘ poll along with traffic development and co-promotional initiatives with Moneycontrol.com.
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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.
