Applications
Triple-play subscriptions to quadruple: Study
MUMBAI: More than a quarter of the world‘s TV households will subscribe to triple-play services by 2016, according to Digital TV Research.
The Triple-Play Forecasts report (covering 73 countries) estimates that this is up from only 7.1 per cent penetration at end-2010.
Report author Simon Murray said: “The 2016 3P penetration doesn‘t sound too impressive until you realize that this represents 387 million homes, up from 96 million at end-2010.”
Rapid expansion means that Asia Pacific‘s 3P (TV, broadband and telephony) subscribers will represent 58 per cent of the total by 2016, up from 35 per cent in 2010.
Of the 291 million additional subscribers, 147 million will be in China alone, followed by an additional 24 million in the US, 18 million more in India and 13 million extra in Russia. China will supply 44 per cent of global 3P subs by 2016.
Furthermore, there will be 80 million dual-play subscribers (2P – TV and broadband in this report) by 2016, up from 32 million at end-2010.Global 2P penetration will reach 5.4 per cent by end-2016, up from 2.3 per cent at end-2010.
China (30 million subs) will be the largest 2P country in 2016, followed by the US (13 million) and India (12 million). These three countries will represent 69 per cent of global 2P subs. There will be twice as many 3P cable subscribers (258 million) than DSL/fiber ones (129 million) by 2016 – a four times as many 2P cable subs than 2P DSL ones.
Murray added, “Rivalry for pay TV and broadband subscribers has never been so fierce – and it‘s going to get even more competitive.
Operators are pushing their bundled packages hard to attract new subscribers and to retain existing ones. These operators are not just competing with each other, but they also have to deal with widespread take-up of digital terrestrial TV (with its channel choice often nearly replicating the basic pay offer) and over-the-top (OTT) Internet-delivered video. Furthermore, satellite TV providers are pushing newer services such as DVRs, HD and 3D to differentiate themselves from their fixed line counterparts.”
The effect of all of this competition is reasonably-priced bundles, which increases overall [blended] ARPU for operators but lowers revenues from the component parts: TV, broadband and telephony. So operators will (and have already started to) reduce TV channel choice (sometimes to just what is offered on DTT) and will be more reluctant to pay carriage fees for basic channels. This will impact channels revenue streams. Furthermore, operators are providing faster broadband speeds as standard.
Triple-play penetration will be highest in North America, reaching 46 per cent by 2016, though growth will flatten from 2014. 3P penetration will exceed 50 per cent of TV households in nine countries by 2016, led by Belgium (67 per cent) and Hong Kong (60 per cent). Singapore (21 per cent) will be the dual-play leader.
Triple-play revenues will reach $170 billion by 2016, nearly $100 billion more than the 2010 total. The US will supply $39 billion of the additional revenues, with Japan up by $9 billion and China increasing by $8 billion. China‘s 2016 total will be 10 times its 2010 total.
The US ($87 billion) will account for half of the world‘s 3P revenues by 2016, and the US ($13 billion) will also take half the global 2P revenues by 2016. Global 2P revenues will reach $26 billion in 2016, up by $10 billion on the 2010 total.
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.
