Applications
Tata Sky to pump in Rs 20 billion, expects break even in 5-7 years
MUMBAI: Tata Sky will take 5-7 years to break even and plans to further invest Rs 20 billion to ramp up its direct-to-home (DTH) business. “We have already invested close to Rs 10 billion. We will pump in a further Rs 20 billion,” says Tata Sky CEO and MD Vikram Kaushik. There is a hardware and content subsidy and it will take us 5-7 years to break even, he adds. Tata Sky charges Rs 3999 for hardware and installation cost while the subscription fee is Rs 300 per month. |
The DTH service provider has a subscriber base of half a million and expects to benefit largely from the ICC cricket World Cup with its free subscription promotional scheme for the next three months. It has roped in actor Hrithik Roshan for its new marketing campaign where select viewers would get to watch the World Cup final match with him. |
“We are on course to achieve our target of one million subscribers in our first year of operations. We have activated half a million boxes. The World Cup should give us a spurt as we have interesting value-added features. In the Cas (conditional access system) areas, we have also seen a rise in demand for our service,” says Kaushik. Tata Sky hopes to add on the Sun network channels soon. “There was a hearing in the court today. The final hearing will be before the first half of March,” says Kaushik. |
Applications
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.
