Applications
Times Audience Network brings PlayTime in India
MUMBAI: Times Audience Network (Tan), the digital video arm of the Times Group, has entered into a strategic partnership with video advertising and analytics platform Tube Mogul to launch PlayTime in India.
Play Time, which is a video advertising platform, connects brands with targeted audiences. Tan claims that PlayTime is the first 100 per cent transparent ad platform for video advertisers.
Under this partnership, Tan will sell PlayTime to advertisers, who will be able to reach Indian audiences on publisher sites and social networks through video ad units on a cost per view basis.
The results will be tracked in real-time, with easy access to reporting on views, minutes-watched, social sharing (Facebook shares) and more.
Times Internet Limited CEO Rishi Khiani said, “TubeMogul is the leader in online video measurement and video analytics. The in-banner video solution completes Tan’s offering of providing advertisers with the best of online video brand solutions.”
PlayTime gives advertisers complete control on where their ads run, transparency on placements and detailed reporting on metrics brands care about.
Launched in March 2010, PlayTime has powered over 150 major brand video advertising campaigns, delivering over 100 million views.
TubeMogul VP, international Marc Galens said, “Online video viewership in India is growing at an astounding rate of 5.8 per cent per month in 2010. The Tan is at the center of this growth, and we are excited to connect their advertisers with audiences in a new way.”
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.
