Cable TV
AT&T president Aaron Slator sacked for sending racially offensive messages
NEW DELHI: American AT&T, which is facing a $100 million discrimination lawsuit, has fired its president Aaron Slator, who allegedly sent racially offensive images from his phone.
AT&T said in a statement that “there is no place for demeaning behaviour within AT&T and we regret the action was not taken earlier.”
An assistant who was asked to transfer data to a new smartphone found the image on Slator’s phone, according to the lawsuit filed on Monday by Knoyme King, a 50-year-old black woman who worked for Slator.
One of the images, apparently of an African child dancing with the caption “It’s Friday…” followed by a term offensive to African Americans, had been sent in a text describing it as an “oldie but a goodie,” the lawsuit said.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, names as defendants Slator, AT&T, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, other executives and board member Joyce Roche.
Slator was president of content and advertising sales, managing its multibillion-dollar budget for content acquisition that is consumed by subscribers of Dallas-based AT&T’s U-verse TV service.
King’s lawyer Skip Miller told The Associated Press that the lawsuit will continue. He said the company failed to take action earlier, despite the issue being brought to the attention of its board of directors and human resources department. “This is an AT&T problem, it’s not just an Aaron Slator problem,” he said.
The lawsuit alleges that King was passed over for promotions and given inferior raises because of her race, that she was mistreated and that attempts were made to have her leave the company. King has worked 30 years for AT&T and is still employed there, Miller said.
MUMBAI: When margins wobble, liquidity talks and in Q3 FY25-26, cash did most of the talking. Den Networks Limited closed the December quarter with consolidated revenue of Rs.251 crore, marginally higher than the previous quarter but down 4 per cent year-on-year, even as profitability stayed resilient on the back of strong cash reserves and disciplined cost control.
Subscription income softened to Rs.98 crore, slipping 3 per cent sequentially and 14 per cent from last year, while placement and marketing income offered some cheer, rising 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs.148 crore. Total costs climbed faster than revenue, up 7 per cent QoQ to Rs.238 crore, driven largely by higher content costs and operating expenses. As a result, EBITDA dropped sharply to Rs.13 crore from Rs.19 crore in Q2 and Rs.28 crore a year ago, pulling margins down to 5 per cent.
Yet, the bottom line refused to blink. Profit after tax stood at Rs.40 crore, up 15 per cent sequentially and only marginally lower than last year’s Rs.42 crore. A healthy Rs.57 crore in other income helped cushion operating pressure, keeping profit before tax at Rs.48 crore, broadly stable quarter-on-quarter despite the tougher cost environment.
The real headline-grabber, however, sits on the balance sheet. The company remains debt-free, with cash and cash equivalents swelling to Rs.3,279 crore as of December 31, 2025. Net worth rose to Rs.3,748 crore, while online collections accounted for 97 per cent of total receipts, underscoring strong cash discipline across operations, including subsidiaries.
In short, while Q3 showed signs of operating strain, the financial backbone remains solid. With zero gross debt, steady profits and a formidable cash war chest, the company enters the next quarter with flexibility firmly on its side proving that in uncertain markets, balance sheet strength can be the best growth strategy.
