Cable TV
Government to once again make MHA clearance compulsory for MSOs?
MUMBAI: Are there more regulatory controls coming on the cable TV industry? If reports emerging in the media (The Asian Age) are to be believed, then they probably are. According to the newspaper, every multisystem operator (MSO) which is licensed with the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB), will now have to also seek the ministry of home affairs’ security (MHA’s) clearance. A notification to this effect is being planned and passed by the Narendra Modi government.
Hitherto, broadcasters and satellite service providers had to go through this procedure. MSOs could just get a licence from the post office to operate in the country, following which they had to get a digital licence from the MIB. The security clearance from the MHA requirement was discontinued a couple of years ago to speed up the pace of cable TV digitalisation.
The newspaper says the government was forced to take such a step for MSOs as well because the MIB had received complaints that several cable TV operators are continuing to retransmit channels which showed content that was potentially harmful to the nation’s security and was deemed as objectionable.
The government is seeking to make it compulsory for MSOs to get annually vetted by the central intelligence and government security agencies to prevent this from occurring.
No confirmation, from the MIB or government sources, was available at the time of writing this report.
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.
