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Sun TV to gain after distribution deal with Arasu Cable
MUMBAI: The intervention of the Madras High Court has prompted the Tamil Nadu state-owned Arasu Cable TV Corporation to stitch a deal with Sun TV Network to carry all its channels, ending months of negotiations that had affected the leading regional broadcaster‘s viewership and subscription revenues.
Arasu Cable TV managing director D. Vivekananda told Indiantelevision.com that it was a one-year deal. “We will have all the 37 Sun network channels on our cable network,” he added, without disclosing the financial details of the deal.
The blackout of the Sun network channels had impacted the broadcaster‘s financial performance. For the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal, Sun TV Network‘s net profit had fallen 23.7 per cent to Rs 1.59 billion while its net sales declined to Rs 4.27 billion. Sun will be announcing its fiscal first-quarter results on 3 August.
Arasu Cable was incorporated under Companies Act, 1956 on 4 October 2007 but was dormant after DMK chief M Karunanidhi patched up with his nephew, Kalanithi Maran. It was later recharged by AIADMK chief Jayalalitha to break Sun Group-owned Sumangali‘s cable monopoly in the state.
Arasu offers 148 channels on its cable TV network, including 50 pay channels and 98 free-to-air channels. It has 5.5 million subscribers, said Vivekananda.
Sun TV shares closed at Rs 264, up 1.97 per cent, after touching an intraday high of Rs 277.45.
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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.
