Applications
Times Now and Zoom hop on to Dish TV
MUMBAI: The direct-to-home (DTH) platform Dish TV will now be offering two more channels, both from the Bennett Coleman stable — the lifestyle television channel Zoom and the English news and current affairs channel Times Now.
The DTH opportunity will help spur higher penetration and create even more attractive business prospects for the two channels in the television market, an official release states.
Essel Group additional vice-chairman Jawahar Goel says, “The availability of the hugely popular news channel from the Times Group, namely, Times Now and the lifestyle channel Zoom on Dish TV beefs up our already robust news content and lifestyle offering. We expect significant consumer response and growth in the subscriber base for Dish TV and for the DTH market in India due to this tie-up.”
According to Times Now CEO Sunil Lulla, “The partnership with Dish TV will further augment the growing popularity of Times Now and will enhance the news viewing experience of the users.”
Talking specifically about the synergies between viewers of Dish TV and Zoom, its CEO Suresh Bala adds, “Dish TV provides us the ideal platform for reaching a larger base of upscale consumers with interest in the lifestyle genre. Zoom prides itself in bringing the latest in trends and lifestyle to our consumers and we believe strongly that our availability on the latest technology Dish TV platform enhances our positioning.”
At present, Dish TV, an Essel Group company with 1.3 million subscribers across the country, carries more than 160 channels, including all the popular cable channels and some exclusive channels.
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.
