Cable TV
Indian pay TV revenue to touch $16 bn by 2023: MPA
MUMBAI: As per a new report by Media Partners Asia (MPA), the pay TV revenue in Asia will top $56 billion in 2018. This will continue to grow at 3 per cent CAGR till 2023 and likely to exceed $66 billion by then. Pay TV revenue consists of subscription fees and local and regional advertising sales.
Over the next five years, the biggest gains will come from China, where pay-TV revenues are projected to grow at a 3 per cent CAGR to reach $25 billion by 2023, and the more accessible and commercial India market, where pay-TV revenue is set for a whopping 8 per cent CAGR to reach $16 billion by 2023. That makes India the highest growing and most scalable pay-TV market in Asia Pacific. At the same time, South Korea will grow at a 3 per cent CAGR to reach $7.4 billion in revenue by 2023, according to MPA forecasts, while pay-TV revenue in Japan will climb at a meagre 1 per cent CAGR to touch $7.1 billion over the same time-frame.
Elsewhere, pay-TV momentum will moderate in Indonesia and the Philippines, two of Southeast Asia’s biggest growth economies, according to MPA, while Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand will register revenue declines ranging between a -1 per cent to a -6 per cent CAGR over 2018-23.
Commenting on the findings from the Asia Pacific Pay-TV Distribution report, MPA executive director Vivek Couto said, “Pay-TV stakeholders are adjusting to new realities as the industry shifts to IP-based distribution. The growth of high-speed broadband and online video is driving fundamental changes in content consumption and investment across key markets. This, together with piracy, will continue to adversely impact pay-TV industry growth. There will be more fixed broadband subs than pay-TV subs across much of Asia Pacific by 2021, while the gap between the mobile broadband subs base and pay-TV & fixed broadband subs will further widen as mobile networks emerge as a major means for mass content distribution, accelerating the shift in content consumption from households to individuals. M&A activity for the Asia Pacific broadcasting and pay-TV sectors for 2017 and the first half of 2018 reached $10.5 billion in aggregate, with the biggest deals taking place in Australia, India and Korea. More M&A and consolidation is likely in these markets with Southeast Asia likely to join the action over 2019-20.”
MPA analysis indicates that the pay-TV subscriber base in Asia Pacific will grow by 3 per cent in 2018 to reach 645 million subs, representing 57 per cent of TV homes with at least one pay-TV service. The Asia Pacific pay-TV subs base will grow at a 2 per cent CAGR between 2018-23 to reach ~696 million by 2023, according to MPA projections. Pay-TV penetration by 2023 will fall to 55 per cent of TV homes when adjusted for multiple subscriptions, largely due to an acceleration in cable cord cutting in China.
Ex-China, net customer additions across Asia Pacific will significantly slow from 10.4 million in 2017 to 6.5 million in 2018. India will account for 47 per cent of the growth in 2018, followed by Indonesia (12 per cent), the Philippines (12 per cent), Korea (10 per cent), Pakistan (7 per cent) and Sri Lanka (3 per cent). The pay-TV base ex-China will grow from 267 million subs in 2018 to 288 million subs by 2023, representing a 2 per cent CAGR, with adjusted pay-TV penetration remaining flat at 57 per cent of TV homes.
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.
