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Singapore pay-TV regulations won’t work: Casbaa
MUMBAI: In response to the latest proposals by the Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore, the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has reiterated that the new regulations remain contrary to the interests of Singapore’s pay-TV subscribers and the industry at large.
According to Casbaa, incentives for content innovation will be suppressed, with particular damage to the business of producing or acquiring marquee pay-TV programming, which by its nature is expensive to produce or acquire.
The regional industry body said the new rules for the mandatory supply of content to all Singaporean pay-TV operators will “necessitate sustained regulatory micro-management of the pay-TV market exacerbated by interference with intellectual property rights.”
Constant regulatory fine tuning can be expected with significantly enlarged state interventions, said Casbaa, which urged the Government of Singapore to revoke changes in the Media Conduct Code that impose the “Cross-carriage system”.
Casbaa, which represents the pay-TV industry across 16 Asian markets, said that the proposed regulations are damaging to Singapore’s hard-won role as a regional content hub. “If implemented as they stand, the new rules would undercut the attractiveness of Singapore as a destination for media investment and impair employment and economic growth.”
Drawing on advice from global trade and intellectual property rights specialists Greenberg Traurig, which represents the International Intellectual Property Association in Washington, Casbaa concluded that the new rules remain inconsistent with Singapore’s international treaty obligations.
Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies says, “Content owners, who have used Singapore as a regional base for more than 15 years, consider the new rules very harmful to the country’s reputation for protecting intellectual property rights holders”.
Casbaa noted that many Asian markets are seeing substantial increases in domestic content production for pay-TV.
While damaging to the interests of Singapore, if the new rules were replicated in these other markets in Asia, they would do infinitely more damage to their young industries.
“The useful stimulus to domestic production coming from growing pay-TV could be irreparably undermined. These are regulations that will not work for Singapore and would be even more destructive in other jurisdictions,” adds Twiston Davies.
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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.
