Cable TV
DAS deadline extension ruled out, govt claims 66% seeding done
NEW DELHI: The Government reiterated today that there was no question of extension of the final phase of digital addressable systems for cable television in the country.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament that Phase I, II & III of the Cable TV Digitisation have been completed successfully except in Tamil Nadu state, which is pending due to court cases.
The fihal phase covering the Rest of India had originally been fixed for 31 December 2014 and later modified to 31 December 2016. It had now been further modified to 31 March 2017 on disposal of court cases.
At the outset, he said Cable TV digitisation in the country is being implemented in four phases according to a Ministry notification of 11 November 2011 which had laid down the phase wise timelines which were subsequently amended.
Phase I covering the Metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai was originally slated for 30 June 2012 and modified to 31 October 2012. The second phase covering 38 cities (with population more than one million) was slated for 31 March 2013.
The third Phase was to cover all other urban areas (Municipal Corporations/ Municipalities) and was originally slated for 30 September 2014 and modified to 31 December 2015.
He said this cut-off date could not be achieved due to stay/extension granted by some Courts. On the disposal of the court cases in December 2016 and in order to provide time for transition of those subscribers who had not switched to digital mode of transmission, the Ministry allowed time upto 31 January 2017.
For Phases I and II 100% requirement of set top boxes has been met except in Tamil Nadu. For Phase III & IV, the Ministry had developed a MIS online software for collection of seeding status of STBs. Since the area of Phase III & IV overlap, the combined state wise seeding progress for these two phases is 66.79 per cent minus Tamil Nadu.
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.
