Cable TV
Hathway launches campaign for new channel packages
MUMBAI: Multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom is out on a mission: to educate cable TV subscribers about their new power – ‘The power to choose.’ And to spread this message the MSO has come out with three TVCs, print ads and radio jingles.
The campaign will use multiple media to inform and educate consumers about the different packages that the MSO has created. The move comes in the wake of broadcaster Star India’s decision to enter into only Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) deals with MSOs.
The five packages for Maharashtra that have been rolled out by Hathway include:
· Basic Pack priced at Rs 158: This will have the best of all the free to air channels.
· Starter priced at Rs 230: This will have best of Hindi entertainment and a variety of kids, music, infotainment, lifestyle, spiritual, regional, radio and games.
· Popular priced at Rs 289: This will have channels from Starter pack + sports (all cricket, best of English news and a variety of other genres).
· Premium priced at Rs 349: This will have channels from Popular pack + bets of English entertainment and a variety of other genres + free top up of any one Sun language package.
· Premium Plus priced at Rs 419: This will have channels from Premium pack + sports (football, all English Entertainment, news, best of all genres + free top up of any two Sun language package.
Conceptualised and created by Gasoline, while one of the TVCs has life reference, the other two are animated. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Gasoline founder and chief creative officer Anil Kakar says, “The brief given to us was that the MSO wanted the power of choice to be in the hands of consumers.”
The campaign highlights the five different packages as well as the a la carte prices being offered by Hathway.
Incidentally, the work on the campaign started in October, which is the same time when Star announced its plan to enter into RIO deals. “While the client wanted life reference, we wanted to bring in animated characters. The reason being that while the message is hard selling, animation makes it light,” informs Kakar.
The ad film draws an analogy from contexts wherein a consumer makes a choice. For instance, the first film opens on a lady buying a soap in a soap store. The salesman is seen pushing various soap brands on offer. The lady quips, ‘You aren’t trying to sell the whole store, are you?’ and smiles. Cut to a CG section wherein we see a host of channel logos and a voiceover, which says, ‘We choose everything in life, why not television channels?’
The strategy is to communicate the cost-effectiveness of a Hathway package subscription. The campaign extends with a couple of animation films, which demonstrate how a subscription is reasonably priced vis-a-vis other things in life. In the first film, we see a young character in a cafe going through his mobile bills, only to find his café bill more expensive, thus communicating the fact that a monthly subscription to a Hathway channel package is still cheaper than two cups of coffee and a sandwich.
The radio spot extends the idea further with a groom who is choosing a bride and in another, a waiter rattling off the menu in a rapid-fire sequence. The radio jingles have been co-produced by 94.3 Radio One.
The print ad is topical and captivating. It reads: ‘You have chosen your Prime Minister. You have chosen your Chief Minister. Now choose your Hathway channel package.’
While the TVC will be aired on the Hathway channels, radio ads will be played in Kolkata, South Indian states (except Chennai), Mumbai and Delhi and the print ad will also be published all over India in the mainline newspapers.
“The campaign has been designed to ease the life of cable operators, who are facing issues in informing consumers about the packages and its pricing,” concludes Kakar.
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.
