Cable TV
News broadcasters to form association
NEW DELHI: After the Indian Broadcast Federation (IBF – representing broadcasters) and the Indian Media Group (IMG – representing Indian media companies), Indian news broadcasters are forming their own “pressure group”.
The proposed body is likely to be called the News Broadcasters Association of India. It will comprise only Indian-promoted news ventures. The likes of BBC and CNN have their own set of problems and issues and, hence, would not be part of this new proposed body that is likely to be registered soon.
The agenda that the body has broadly laid out is to address specific news-related issues and take them up with the government. Everybody remains a member of the IBF, but as the IBF cannot take up specific issues, TV news networks have formed their own association.
The first meeting of the grouping was held last week in Delhi in TV Today office. No office-bearers have been elected as yet though.
Admitted a news broadcaster, “We felt our specific needs and issues need to be addressed without confusing them with general (broadcasting) matters. That’s what the intention is behind setting up the News Broadcasters Association of India.”
An example of the kind of issues that news broadcasters might take up include the draft of the Broadcast Bill, recently prepared by a sub-panel of a 30-member committee overseen by I&B secretary SK Arora, which hints at stringent content regulation, particularly for news channels. If okayed by lawmakers in its present state, it could well be the end of sting operations and coverage of issues where high profile politicians and personalities are involved.
Sample this part: “TV channels must not use material relating to a person’s personal or private affairs or which invades an individual’s privacy unless there is an identifiable public interest reason for the material to be broadcast.” Who decides what constitutes an individual’s privacy? The government or the regulator? What this means of course is that it’s all up for interpretation.
It is this scope for interpretation that has news broadcasters seriously concerned. More so since the onus of proving identifiable public interest lies with the TV channel and not the other way round.
The interests of the print media are addressed and protected by the Indian Newspaper Association. That is the role the News Broadcasters Association of India hopes to fulfil as far as the electronic media is concerned.
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.
