Cable TV
ABU with AsiaSat, SARFT to cover ‘Poverty Reduction Conference’
MUMBAI: The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) in cooperation with Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Ltd. (AsiaSat) and the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) of the People’s Republic of China is providing the delivery of content relating to the Poverty Reduction Conference being held in Shanghai, China from 25 -27 May to local and national television audiences, says a release.
Broadcasters across the Asia-Pacific region and around the world are being offered satellite interview opportunities via AsiaSat 4 with World Bank president James Wolfensohn, UNDP administrator Mark Malloch Brown, Asian Development Bank vice president Geert van der Linden, UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot and others.
“This is a conference on how to take successful programmes and scale them up; how to enable poor people to be the central force for change and not an object of charity; and how to manage programmes and policies over time to achieve results that truly make a difference in people’s life,” says the World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn.
Co-organised by the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the World Bank, the Shanghai Poverty Reduction Conference will be structured as a dialogue in which key decision-makers will share their insights on what has worked, what has not, and why, within various economic, social, and institutional contexts as they defined goals, designed programs, experimented and learned during implementation.
“By actively giving access and participation in this international conference we are ensuring regional and national participation to a very important global dialogue,” said ABU secretary-general David Astley. He added “Our objective here is to make international news as accessible on local, national and regional television and radio as it is through the international news carriers, and to make such knowledge and information more accessible to local audiences.”
Among the six hundred participants invited to attend, more than 500 represents international and local registrants, representatives of governments, civil society groups, U.N. agencies, multilateral development institutions, bilateral aid agencies, and regional development banks.
“We are very pleased to work with both the ABU and SARFT on this project. The high-powered region-wide C-band footprint of AsiaSat 4 facilitates the dissemination of regional news and events to audiences around the region and beyond. We are honoured to play a role in the global dialogue on poverty reduction,” said Sabrina Cubbon, general manager marketing of AsiaSat.
By providing interview opportunities and access to information generating from the global conference, the ABU and AsiaSat seek to increase regional participation in the global economic development dialogue.
This first-time collaboration between the ABU and the development organisations in reaching local and national broadcasters attempts to address information access issues for countries generally unable to participate in such events, adds the release.
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.
