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Ofcom reshapes amid cost trimming
MUMBAI: For Ofcom, the fiscal ended March 2011 has been very challenging as it had to reshape the organisation amid pressures on public finances. UK‘s media watchdog chalked out plans to save 28 per cent over the four-year period beginning from April 2011.
Said Ofcom chairman Collette Bowe, “Given the scale of the reduction in our budget, we must also cut back our activities in a number of areas. We are required to take on new and additional responsibilities. Our challenge now, which I am determined that Ofcom meets, is to continue to act as vigorously as we always have on behalf of citizens and consumers.”
Bowe noted that in the past year Ofcom embarked on a new examination of consumer switching in the telecoms sector, to determine the extent to which the current arrangements promote good consumer and competition outcomes.
“The past year saw new duties placed upon us as a result of the Digital Economy Act, and over the next year what we do is likely to change again. The Public Bodies Bill will, if passed, pave the way for modest but important deregulation in the way we work, including our governance structure. We have also reviewed, reformed and streamlined the role, scope and functions of our advisory committees, allowing us to reduce costs while retaining the necessary focus on people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the needs of older and disabled people.”
Ofcom CEO Ed Richards said that while the organisation has secured a wide range of positive outcomes for consumers and citizens in 2010/11 there is still more for it to do.
One of the year‘s more talked about outcomes was in pay TV. From the beginning of the football season viewers were able to watch top-flight football on a wider range of TV platforms and benefit from new TV packages, as a result of Ofcom‘s intervention.
The year saw high-definition services on digital terrestrial TV come of age. Sales of Freeview HD TVs and boxes reached 1.2 million at the end of 2010.
Ofcom‘s total budget for 2011/12 will be Â?115.8 million.
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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.
