Cable TV
Cingular Wireless sets text messaging record for ‘American Idol’
MUMBAI: US wireless carrier Cingular Wireless has broken its own record for wireless text messaging during the fifth season of American Idol on Fox.
Cingular recorded more than 64.5 million text messages throughout the show’s season, breaking last year’s record of 41.5 million text messages.
Text messages include votes, trivia, sweepstakes, entries, TXT chats, fan club and vote number reminder. Cingular introduced a lot of American Idol themed content this season, but its newest offering, Live Idol Tones, stole the show. Cingular claims to have broken new ground in the music industry with the tones letting Cingular customers purchase and download ringtones and answer tones of select American Idol performances just 24 hours after they were performed live on the show.
Typically, traditional recorded music requires months to go from recording to distribution. Last week, Cingular’s Live Idol Tones category of ringtones was one of the top sellers.
Cingular Wireless VP marketing John Burbank says, “We are pleased to have played a role in what was another great season of American Idol. We knocked Idol-related text messaging out of the ballpark and added another home run with our Live Idol Tones which capitalised on the passion American Idol fans have for their favourite contestants.”
Cingular customers also had exclusive wireless access to American Idol throughout the season with services including TXT chats with Idol contestants and convenient vote number reminders listing all of the American Idol contestants who performed that week. In addition, Cingular customers also connected to the show through the Idol Wireless Fan Club which let them keep up with the latest Idol news, play Idol Trivia on their wireless devices or download “American Idol” -related ringtones such as the show’s theme song or songs from former Idol winners and contestants.
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.
