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PCCW bags rights for Italian Serie A soccer
MUMBAI: Hong Kong communications firm PCCW has announced that its broadband platform now TV has won the media rights to broadcast Italy‘s soccer event – the Serie A Championship – in the 2007/2008, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasons. |
Serie A is contested by 20 clubs in a round-robin competition format and comprises a total of 380 matches per season. Under the package acquired from Media Partners & Silva /Dentsu which jointly distribute serie A media rights in Asia, now TV has the television, broadband, IPTV and mobile TV rights for not less than 130 live matches, including most home games featuring major Italian teams such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Roma. |
All Serie A matches available on now TV will be included as further enhancements to the Mega Sports Pack offered for $218 per month on a 12-month term plan. Customers subscribing to the Mega Sports Pack before 30 April, 2007 will be able to enjoy an early bird offer of $178 per month (mini-pack price), with five months‘ free viewing if they sign for 18 months. The Mega Sports Pack includes not only soccer championships, such as Uefa Champions League, English FA Cup and Serie A, but also other top sporting events like the 2007 FIVB World Grand Prix, 2007 FIVB World Cup and Now TV currently serves an installed customer base of more than 700,000 and offers a choice of more than 120 channels including HBO, Star Movies, ESPN and Star Sports. |
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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.
