Cable TV
Cable ops to meet I&B minister this evening
NEW DELHI: Though a total cable blackout did not happen in Delhi or in other parts of the country as had been threatened by a section of the cable fraternity, meetings with government officials are, of course, being held around conditional access.
A senior executive of Zee Telefilms’ cable arm Siti Cable said there may be a ‘partial’ blackout of cable service, which however needs to be ascertained. However, a section of the cable operators claimed that they have successfully blacked out service for the day in most parts of Delhi, at least.
In a related development, some independent cable operators, and a couple of MSOs are slated to meet information and broadcasting (I&B) minister Ravi Shankar Prasad this evening to discuss CAS rollout, a week ahead of the revised schedule.
The government is upset that till sometime back the multi-system operators (MSOs) had mislead it on the availability of set-top boxes. According to one estimate, there are only about 40,000 boxes that have been cleared by the customs till late last week. Now, if this estimate is to be believed, then it is worrisome as these boxes may not be adequate to even cope up with the minimal demand that is expected initially.
A government official yesterday said that after having ‘settled’ the political issues, the government is now concentrating on ironing out differences in the industry on CAS implementation. It seems that the political message from Raipur where the Bharatiya Janata Party held its national executive meeting recently is clear: go ahead with CAS, but with minimum fuss.
Meanwhile, Zee Telefilms vice-chairman Jawahar Goel today claimed that Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is ‘satisfied’ by the paper on CAS given to her by the Indian broadcasters. The chief minister, however, could not be contacted for an official comment.
Tomorrow in the lower house of the Parliament, the government is expected to face some heat on the issue of CAS and the controversy that has been whipped up around it.
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.
