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US broadcasters to provide more tools for parents for online content
MUMBAI: US broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, TeleFutura, Telemundo and Univision broadcast networks have announced a plan to provide additional ratings tools to give parents even greater decision-making power over their family‘s media consumption.
Parents will now be able use the TV ratings system when children access broadcast television programmes on the Internet. The networks are making the ratings information available for all full-length entertainment programs that stream on the websites that they control.
Each company will determine its own systems, and the networks have committed that the TV ratings will appear at the beginning of full-length video programs and also in the online programming descriptions. Network websites will also include or link to ratings system information.
This commitment is effective for rated programming televised beginning 1 December.
The Parents Television Council welcomed the decision by TV networks ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telefutura, Telemundo and Univision to expand their ratings to online content, a move PTC encouraged in a 2010 online video study. However, it cautioned that the decision rings hollow without reform to a system that lacks accuracy, consistency, transparency and accountability.
PTC president Tim Winter said, “We are pleased to see that the networks have finally expressed an intention to display ratings for their online content, which is something the PTC called for in our November 2010 study, ‘Untangling the Web of Internet Video.’ In that study, the PTC showed that four of the most popular online distributors, including Hulu, Fancast, /Slashcontrol, and AT&T, all failed to provide consistent and accurate content ratings for parents”.
The PTC does not want the online rating system to be similar to the current television rating system.
Said Winter, “The timing of this announcement on the eve of the Supreme Court’s broadcast decency decision in Fox v. FCC is dubious. Broadcasters have a unique publicly-granted privilege and it is past time for them to start providing real solutions to parents, rather than attempting half measures designed to sway the Court’s and the public’s opinion. This is too big an issue to continue playing games. We hope that the networks will allow more public involvement in designing a new system that will give parents the tools they need to protect children.”
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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.
