Cable TV
Cable operators meet to counter DTH threat
MUMBAI: Feeling the threat that direct-to-home (DTH) would offer, cable operators met in Mumbai today to discuss how they could beat the competition.
They were particularly concerned about the way a DTH service provider was approaching housing societies in Mumbai with the proposal of offering residents a central dish antenna through which it would connect individual installations. This would, thus, do away with the usual practice of each flat owner having to buy a dish.
The meeting was called by Cable Operators and Distributors Association (CODA) and multi system operators (MSOs) were invited to offer their views. No decision has been taken yet on what course of action the cable operators would take.
“By setting up a common dish antenna, the DTH operator can grab away the entire society. This amounts to redistribution of signals and is unfair,” says a last mile operator who attended the meeting.
Tata Sky Ltd, the joint venture between the Tatas and Star, has approached societies of several high-rise buildings in Mumbai with such proposals because individual dish antennas, though not expensive, would be a difficult proposition in homes. Besides, marketing it to societies would be less tedious and cumbersome a process than approaching individual homes.
Defending the strategy, Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik says this is only one of the many proposals that the company is making to rope in DTH subscribers. “Whenever any restructuring happens in any business, there will be forces which will have to adjust to the new reality,” he elaborates.
Tata Sky is planning to start its DTH service anytime between March and June 2006. It is awaiting the launch of ISRO’s Insat 4A satellite on 16 December.
In the meeting, representatives from MSOs suggested cable operators to push for digital cable TV. By being able to seed set-top boxes (STBs), they will be more effective in retaining their subscribers. “Antagonising any broadcaster by blacking out channels is not the solution, at least not immediately. Other ways have to be tried out. Ultimately we have to compete in the market with technologies like the DTH,” an executive from a leading MSO said.
CODA will meet again next week to decide on what action cable operators would take. “There are many issues that the cable industry faces. We were discussing some of them,” CODA president Anil Parab said, refusing to specify any single topic that dominated the meeting.
Siticable CEO Jagjit Kohli, Incablenet president Manoj Motwani and senior executives from Hathway Cable & Datacom attended the meeting.
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.
