Cable TV
Hathway’s digital cable service to hit the market by October end
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom is preparing for a digital cable television rollout by October-end with 140 channels in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
This will entail an additional expense of about Rs 70 million , outside the Rs 1 billion investment incurred for the conditional access system (CAS). Under the CAS preparation, Hathway had readied for a 40-channel headend.
The digital set-top boxes (STBs) will be sold at Rs 3,150 plus local sales tax. There will be no rental scheme, at least initially. In Chennai, where CAS is mandatory for viewing of pay channels, Hathway offers consumers both a monthly rental and an outright purchase scheme for its STBs.
“We are pushing for voluntary CAS. We aim at penetrating 8 per cent of our cable TV subscribers in the three metros within one year. We have subscribers in upmarket areas in these cities who may switch from analogue to our digital service,” says Hathway Cable & Datacom chief executive officer K Jayaraman.
Hathway has 185,000 STBs but has only managed to deploy 6,000-7,000 boxes in Chennai. The company hopes digital quality picture, additional channels, stereophonic sound and an electronic programming guide (EPG) will lure consumers to switch over. Under the analogue service, Hathway offers 70-80 channels. The monthly cable TV subscription fee will be the same for both the analogue and digital services.
Though Hathway will offer 140 channels under its digital cable TV service, the STBs are capable of receiving 500 channels. Hathway is also exploring the possibility of tying up with niche content channels.
Hathway has procured the equipment and the whole set up is currently being erected, says Jayaraman. “Commissioning engineers from Scientific Atlanta have already reached and trial runs will start from 15 October,” he adds.
Hathway is working out incentive schemes for its franchise operators to deploy the digital STBs. “We are finalising on the terms. We will offer our local operators and joint venture partners an incentive per box deployed,” says Jayaraman.
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.
