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Time Warner Cable customers may lose TV networks
MUMBAI: Time Warner Cable‘s contract dispute over fees with Sinclair Broadcast Group might lead to a possible blackout at the end of the year.
Time Warner has rejected the proposal by Sinclair that would raise fees on an average of 10 cents per subscriber. The second-largest US cable company also denied making a counteroffer, which means Sinclair stations, may not be carried on its systems after 31 December, Maryland- based Sinclair said. Though, Time Warner has said in a statement that it is ready to negotiate.
Disputes over fees have caused at least seven blackouts of cable and broadcast channels this year in the US. The last high-profile dispute that caused a blackout was in October when Cablevision Systems customers went without Fox programming for 15 days – missing two World Series games.
This blackout would affect 33 stations and more than 5 million Time Warner Cable customers and channels such as Fox and ABC in Columbus, Ohio, and CBS in Portland, Maine would be blocked, said Sinclair.
Until recently, broadcast companies allowed cable providers to carry their channels for free and made profits selling commercial time. But increasing competition with cable networks for ad dollars and the falling ad spends due to recession is making broadcasters collect these fees from cable providers.
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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.
