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Trust rejects BBC proposal for online federation of public service broadcasters
MUMBAI: A proposal for the BBC to form an online federation giving access to public service broadcasters‘ content via iPlayer through a combination of commercial and public service elements has been rejected by the BBC Trust.
The Trust reiterated its support for the principle of sharing the iPlayer more widely, but said the BBC would need to find simpler ways of achieving this.
The rejected proposal involved a federation between the public service broadcasters (PSBs) to provide access via the iPlayer to their on-demand video content, combining commercial and public service components.
The Trust concluded that this was not the best way to share the BBC iPlayer or to deliver increased public value to licence fee payers. However, the Trust said that it was open to alternative proposals for sharing iPlayer technology on a simpler basis to others beyond the BBC.
Said BBC Trustee and Chair of the Trust‘s Strategic Approvals Committee Diane Coyle, “The iPlayer is a success and we believe that access to its technology could be useful to other broadcasters. The Trust supports the BBC‘s aim of sharing the benefits of the iPlayer.
“When assessing the proposals submitted by the BBC Executive, the Trust weighed up a number of factors which included their strategic significance, their impact on other BBC activities, the potential competitive impact and their overall value to licence fee payers.
“We concluded that the open iPlayer plans in their proposed form, combining both commercial and public service elements, were too complicated. We were not convinced that there was enough potential value to licence fee payers in the public service part of the proposal, and we have therefore rejected the BBC Executive‘s proposals for an open iPlayer federation.
“We will look again at future public service models for the online delivery of programming as part of the strategic review now in progress. In the meantime, the Trust is open to considering an alternative proposal for the licensing of the iPlayer technology to third parties if that can be done on a simple, fair and commercial basis.”
The BBC Executive submitted detailed proposals to the Trust‘s Strategic Approvals Committee on 29 September on use of the iPlayer technology by third parties. These are collectively known as the ‘open iPlayer‘ proposals and comprise a number of distinct elements including:
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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.
