Cable TV
Subscribers blame operators for channel packages
KOLKATA: This year, not only has the economic recession dampened Kolkata’s festive fervour, customers are now complaining about the inability to view their favourite television channels despite opting for them.
However, before jumping to any conclusions about multi system operators (MSOs) having missed their deadline for offering channel packages, the MSOs maintain they’ve already done the needful. So why then are subscribers cribbing?
Apparently, a majority of them have filled out customer request forms (CRFs) opting for a fresh bouquet of channels and yet, nothing has changed for them.
Says Shyamal Sen, a resident of south Kolkata: “I do have a cable connection with a package of Rs 280+Rs 50 (tax), which amounts to Rs 330 per month … but all these packages are only fooling people. I assume my neighbour has taken the Rs 180 package and still enjoys all the channels.”
Rupa Das from Behala is happy that a couple of channels she had struck off from the list last month have gone off air but is yet to receive her new package.
On their part, MSOs refuse to take the blame for the plight of subscribers.
Kolkata has 30 lakh cable homes and nine MSOs, of which, SitiCable controls a substantial share of cable users. The company claims it has introduced packages on time. “We have offered the package and achieved 100 per cent CRF. Around 50,000 subscribers did not submit their forms. It seems those households which have more than one set-top box have not opted for a package for their second one or they are not residing in Kolkata,” says Siticable Kolkata director Suresh Sethia.
A Hathway Cable and Datacom official too maintains the company has offered channel packages to all its customers and hasn’t received any such complaints so far.
While Cable Operators Digitalisation Committee Kolkata Association of Cable Operators convener Swapan Chowdhury, reasons that the process could have been delayed with the onset of Durga Puja. According to him, MSOs and operators might take another month to start beaming channel packages. “A lot of back-end technical work still remains before new packages can be beamed,” he argues.
Similarly, an official from another MSO says since the MSO hasn’t yet collected CRFs from its customers, it plans to beam packages in phases after Durga Puja. “The LCOs will not work this week. Even if I want to offer packages, nothing can be done. Customers have to understand this,” he says.
Manthan director Sudip Ghosh says customers are going in for need-based packages currently.
Meanwhile, Namit Dave, a media analyst, is rather candid about the whole thing. He reasons that with the delay in the DAS process, it was apparent that channel packages would not be in place starting 1 October. “Even now in Kolkata, 100 per cent DAS has not been achieved in reality. So there is no question of channel offer,” he shoots.
If sources are to be believed, nearly 60 per cent of CRFs have been collected in Kolkata. However, festivities have put a spanner in the works and it is likely that MSOs and operators will take some more weeks before they start beaming the channel packages.
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.
