Cable TV
Govt. seeks details of cable headend set-up costs
NEW DELHI: The government has asked the cable and broadcasting industry to come back with more details on the investments that are likely to be needed to be made in headends if conditional access system – facilitating addressability in Indian cable homes – is implemented. This would also form the basis for pricing of the minimum of 33 channels, which a cable operator would have to provide to subscribers as part of the basic-tier of service.
There are some differences between the government estimates on the finances involved and that arrived at by cable operators that hampered a consensus on pricing of the basic tier of service at a meeting of the costing committee on CAS held on Thursday.
For example, while the finance ministry, after collating data and doing mathematical calculation, feels that the cost of one channel for a headend servicing a 7 km radius would be approximately Rs 45,000, some cable operators, according to industry sources, told yesterday’s meeting that if all BIS standards are to be followed then the figure arrived at by the finance ministry would almost double per channel.
Additionally, while government estimates put cable penetration in the metros at almost 70 per cent of the total TV homes, the cable industry representatives say it does not exceed 58-60 per cent.
The costing committee meeting, chaired by joint secretary (broadcasting) in the I&B ministry, Rakesh Mohan, has asked the cable industry to provide it with more details on the actual finances involved to set up a headend if coaxial cable/fibre optics are laid.
These issues are important because they are related to the pricing of the basic tier of prices which, the government says, would be fixed by it.
The 33 free-to-air channels that are to be part of the basic tier also include three Doordarshan channels.
However, the genres of channels that should be included in the basic tier have not yet been specified. “Specifying the genres of channels would be difficult because it will depend on the availability of free-to-air channels in a specific genre,” a cable operator told indiantelevision.com.
For instance, it would be very difficult to include a sports channel in the basic tier of service at the moment because there are no free-to-air sports channel available. Even DD Sports is a pay channel, though Prasar Bharati is mulling making the channel free-to-air. “This move may have been necesisated so that at least DD Sports can be included in the basic tier of cable service, ” a media analyst, closely following developments related to CAS, said.
On the pricing front, while some independent cable operators have suggested charging Rs 3 per channel for the basic tier of service (Rs 99 per month for the package), some broadcasters have suggested a much lower price in the range of Rs 45 to Rs 50.
However, implementation of CAS in the immediate future looks bleak as the government may not hurry it through via an executive order (Ordinance) in between Parliament sessions.
Though the official reason being cited for this delay is that if the prices of pay channels hold, there is no immediate need for CAS, it seems that the government has realised that it would be difficult to convince the President of the country to promulgate an Ordinance at a time when the country has more pressing problems compared to CAS.
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.
