Cable TV
Cable case hearing Wednesday
MUMBAI: A division bench of the Mumbai High Court comprising Chief Justice CL Thakker and Dr Dhananjay Chandrachud today postponed the hearing of the “much hyped up” cable case to 2:45 pm tomorrow.
Affected parties comprising of cable operators, multi-system operators (MSOs) politicians, broadcasters amongst others are hoping that the HC delivers its verdict tomorrow – exactly two and a half months before the conditional access system (CAS) gets implemented in metros (14 July 2003).
Mumbai Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) lawyer AM Saraogi started off proceedings by submitting photographs of the banners displayed by one of the key petitioners Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) member of parliament Kirit Somaiya across Mumbai city. Saraogi stated that the banners wrongly mentioned that the HC had given a stay order to cable operators forbidding increase in cable charges. Saraogi argued that the consumers had been misguided and many of them refused to pay cable charges to the operators. This problem of poor receipts and collections percolated to all levels of the cable trade – from last mile operators to MSOs to broadcasters.
BJP MP Somaiya’s lawyer CD Mehta then stated that he had not received the affidavit filed by lawyer Ahmad Abdi, Consumer Action Network (CAN) president. Abdi had paved the way for today’s hearing by producing evidence that cable related disconnections were happening throughout the city. Abdi wanted the chief justice to expedite the case in the best interests of the affected parties. Abdi also countered by saying that Mehta had not served relevant copies despite being one of the main petitioners.
On hearing the arguments, chief justice Thakker and R Chandrachud agreed to grant time to the lawyers to complete the formalities and postponed the hearing to tomorrow.
Await more action at Room no 52 of the Mumbai High Court as a multitude of lawyers representing 20-odd respondents/petitioners put forth different arguments to elicit a favourable judgement.
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.
