Cable TV
Hong Kong clubs under Casbaa piracy scrutiny
MUMBAI: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa), today took new steps to stamp out pay-TV piracy in Hong Kong, issuing “cease and desist letters” to a number of bars and clubs in Hong Kong screening pay-TV services without legal pay-TV subscriptions.
Following a High Court ruling and support from the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) this new action aims to combat Pay-TV signal piracy across the SAR. If these venues fail to immediately discontinue screening pay-TV programming without obtaining legitimate subscriptions to licensed pay-TV services they are liable to further legal proceedings in the High Court of Hong Kong.
The cease and desist letters were issued in parallel with the launch of a “pay-TV piracy awareness” campaign, under which Casbaa will issue letters to 300 bars and clubs in Hong Kong putting them on notice of what constitutes the legal and illegal screening of pay-TV services.
Under Hong Kong law bars and clubs may only display pay-TV channels, such as ESPN or Star Sports, under an appropriate subscription from a Hong Kong licensed pay-TV operator such as Hong Kong Cable Television
Limited (i-Cable). Other pay-TV operators such as UBC of Thailand, Multichoice of South Africa and Dream of the Philippines are not authorised to offer subscriptions in Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, besides Hong Kong Cable Television (i-Cable), the licensed pay TV operators are PCCW (NOW), Yes TV and Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting (ExTV), all of whom are members of Casbaa.Law firms Herbert Smith and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have been retained by Casbaa to advise on these matters.
Last year, Casbaa, together with various copyright owners, was involved in successful pay-TV signal piracy actions against suppliers of equipment that enabled the unlawful reception of pay TV programmes within Hong Kong (Satellite Television Asian Region Ltd & Others v Alpha Communications Technology Ltd & Others).
Pay-TV channels named in the 2003 court actions included CNN, Discovery Networks Asia, National Geographic Channels, Cartoon Network, ESPN Star Sports and STAR Group. CASBAA also represents the likes of MTV Asia, HBO Asia, BBC World, Walt Disney Television, Sony Pictures Television, TVB International, Nickelodeon, CNBC and Bloomberg Television.
Earlier this month John Tsang, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, gave a commitment that the regulator, OFTA, would be making weekly visits to “black spots” where unauthorised pay-TV decoders are on sale and that these visits would be followed up with appropriate action.
Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of CASBAA, applauded Tsang’s comments and said the pay-TV piracy awareness letters and cease and desist letters to the bars and clubs are part of a wider campaign to raise awareness of pay-TV piracy in Hong Kong and across the region.
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.
