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Star, Incablenet in spat over commercial terms
MUMBAI: Star India and multi-system operator IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) are fighting over commercial issues as their carriage contract is due for renewal.
As negotiations have failed to conclude for over three months, Star has threatened to switch off signals to Incablenet (the brand of IMCL‘s cable TV operations) if no agreement is reached by 22 April.
The channels threatened for disconnection are Star Plus, Star Movies, Star World, National Geographic Channel, NDTV 24×7, NDTV Profit, NDTV Good Times, NDTV India, MGM and Fox History & Entertainment.
Star Den, which distributes the Star India channels, has already put out a notice in the newspapers on 30 March to switch off Incablenet in case they fail to sign the contract by 22 April.
“We have been negotiating with Incablenet since the last three months. We had a carriage contract, which they did not follow. As per Trai guidelines, we have put out a notice and by 22 April if they (Incablenet) do not sign, we will switch them off,” said Star Den CEO Gurjeev Singh Kapoor.
IMCL executives, who did not want to be named, said that Star Den was asking for an increase in payout. “We can‘t recover any increase in payment from our consumers. Moreover, we do not want all their channels, which they are forcing us to take,” an executive said.
The contract between Star Den and Incablenet expired on 31 December 2010.
Star said enforcement agencies recently raided an Incablenet network in Surat over a complaint filed by the broadcaster. Star alleged that the MSO was “transmitting signals beyond its authorised area of operations in Surat.”
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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.
