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No relief for Sun Direct in ESPN case on HD feed
MUMBAI: Kalanithi Maran-promoted Sun Direct received a setback today as the Supreme Court declined to stay broadcast tribunal Tdsat’s order against it in a case relating to a dispute with sports broadcaster ESPN Sports.
Sun Direct had filed a petition in the apex court challenging the order by Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) wherein it had asked the DTH player to cough up Rs 25 million to sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports for Hi-Definition Feed (HDF) of two special sporting events.
Hearing the petition today, the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia declined to interfere in the order passed by the tribunal and asked Sun Direct to pay Rs 25 million.
Disagreeing to Sun Direct’s submission that the cost was not reasonable in comparison to the normal cable rates, the court noted that cost of HDF appears to be very high and has to be different.
It also said that “Tata Sky has already paid and what was the problem with you”.
The Court, however, said it would hear Sun Direct‘s plea against 24 per cent interest imposed by the tribunal on it and issued notice to ESPN.
On 16 December, Tdsat had ordered Tata Sky and Sun Direct to pay ESS at the rate of Rs 25 million for the telecast of soccer World Cup and Wimbledon in HD format.
Tdsat had maintained that Tata Sky had already paid a partial sum of Rs 17.7 million while Sun Direct has not paid any sum. It, thus, directed that Sun Direct should pay interest at the rate of 24 per cent per annum on the due amount. It also noted that two other DTH operators had already agreed and paid the sum of Rs 25 million for the two events.
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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.
