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Shanghai Media Group partners GlobeCast for broadcast services
MUMBAI: GlobeCast and Shanghai Media Group (SMG), a Chinese media company, have signed an agreement to jointly provide a host of production and transmission services to serve the needs of international broadcasters and to establish a video fibre link into and out of China.
The goal of the agreement is to combine SMG’s domestic Chinese capabilities with GlobeCast’s worldwide network and expertise so as to provide one-stop services to Chinese and international broadcasters based in China.
SMG and GlobeCast cooperation includes developing business with news and sports channels, rights holders, entertainment content producers, and business TV customers.
SMG will provide in-house equipment and facilities in China, including ENG kit and crews, SNG trucks and flyaways, OB vans, tape playout feedpoints in Shanghai and Beijing, domestic fibre links and route switching in China, as well as uplink and downlink transmission solution.
A new fibre link has been established between SMG’s PoP (point of presence) in Shanghai and GlobeCast’s PoP in Hong Kong. From there, GlobeCast will provide customers with access to its international fibre network, which has points of presence in Asia, America, Africa and Europe as well as access to its 12 teleports worldwide for satellite delivery.
The physical link between the two companies’ facilities will also be backed up by coordination of services and bookings, allowing for seamless delivery of services within and outside of China.
GlobeCast and SMG will also build a digital file transmission services for domestic use within China, utilising GlobeCast technologies and SMG’s network resources.
GlobeCast’s Content Exchange solution, a content management tool, will make up part of the network. It will allow content producers, news agencies, editors and subtitling houses to come under one platform to exchange and share audiovisual files of any file size and in any format from any broadband connection and deliver the final product to the studios with ease.
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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.
