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Starz Entertainment launches 3 HD movie channels on DirecTV
MUMBAI:Starz Entertainment launched its new High Definition (HD) premium movie channels, Starz Comedy HD, Starz Edge HD and Starz Kids & Family HD. The new channels, along with the flagship Starz HD channels, will be available at no extra cost to DirecTV‘s Starz Super Pack subscribers with DirecTV‘s new generation of advanced HD set-top boxes and HD DVRs. The three new channels are high definition East Coast feeds of the Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, and Starz Kids and Family. They join the flagship Starz HD channels, which are available in East and West Coast feeds. “We are delighted to be at the forefront of offering multiple HD channels to our affiliates and consumers,” said Starz Entertainment COO and president Bill Myers. “We commend DirecTV for being first to market in carrying all five of the Starz HD channels and meeting the growing consumer demand for quality HD programming. Starz Entertainment is the exclusive subscription television and broadband provider of first-run films from Hollywood studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Overture Films, Revolution Studios, Miramax Films, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Pixar, TriStar, Screen Gems, Sony Classics and Warren Miller Films. Select first-run theatrical films from The Weinstein Company, IFC and Yari Film Group are also available for subscription television and broadband exclusively on Starz Entertainment services.
Movies currently airing exclusively on the Starz HD channels and services include: Disney and Pixar‘s Cars, Scary Movie 4, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man‘s Chest, Gridiron Gang, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Top HD titles coming soon include: Ghost Rider and The Pursuit of Happyness.
Myers continued, “Leichtman Research Group research shows that 55 per cent of people who have (or are interested in getting) HDTV are likewise interested in receiving premium networks in HD. Starz is meeting this growing demand in the HD marketplace with exclusive subscription movie programming. HD is a key part of the Starz business strategy and product mix — both for linear channels and on-demand — and we look forward to additional opportunities to bring even more movies to market in the future.”
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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.
