Cable TV
Rane diktat: MSOs see STBs as answer
MUMBAI: Maharashtra revenue minister Narayan Rane is threatening to take action against cable operators who underreport their subscriber figures. The way out: a survey to expose the actual cable TV subscribers in Mumbai or even a hike in entertainment tax.
Rane may have good reason to do so, although detractors point this out as an action aimed at Shiv Sena, the party from where he launched his political career but left recently amidst stiff rivalry with supremo Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav.
Mumbai including Thane city and Navi Mumbai have around 3,000 cable operators servicing approximately 3 million homes. The declaration of cable connections, according to government officials, is 500,000. The state government charges Rs 30 a subscriber. “The cable operators have been cheating the government for a long time. The time has come to act. The state government is generating about Rs 800 million through entertainment tax from cable operators. And I am sure that with the alternate system, the revenue would go up at least four times,” Rane told one of the leading newspapers in Mumbai.
The alternate system Rane is hinting at is direct-to-home (DTH) service. The cable industry, however, rejects this as an unrealistic option. The multi system operators (MSOs), in fact, see the introduction of set-top boxes (STBs) as the answer to all the evils of underreporting.
“Let the government mandate STBs for pay-TV viewing. That will take care of gross under-declarations. The government will have a transparent system and entertainment tax collections will augment,” says the head of a leading MSO in Mumbai.
Local cable operators, however, are worried about Rane’s possible drive at forcing operators to increase declarations. “If the government seriously clamps down on operators, subscribers will have to pay higher cable TV prices. The current rates are possible because underreporting is factored in. The monthly rates could shoot up to Rs 500,” says Federation of Cable Operators Association president Ravi Singh.
A worse implication could be if the government decides to hike entertainment tax for cable operators. “This would be unfair as those who have a higher declaration of their actual connections will have to suffer more,” says Singh.
Singh, however, is willing to discuss the issue of underreporting with Rane and the state government. His association, along with CODA (Cable Operators and Distributors Association), is planning to meet Rane. “We will seek an appointment with Rane We can discuss what kind of cooperation we can extend to sort out the issue,” says Singh.
CODA president Anil Parab believes action can follow only after Rane has made his proposals clear. “We do not know what his proposals are and how he is planning to increase the declarations. It is only then that we will decide on what action to take,” he says.
A section of the industry has welcomed Rane’s drive to increase declarations. “If the government succeeds, it will be best for the industry. The broadcasters, though, will gain the most,” says Jagjit Kohli, a veteran in the cable TV industry.
A survey of the actual connections of the cable operators, however, is an uphill task. Earlier governments have also lacked political will to head for a transparency system. The idea of hiring a private bidder to take charge of declarations has also been toyed with but without success. “That wouldn’t have been a good system as other elements would have come into play. Many in the industry would have felt that the private bidder wouldn’t be fair as it would be in his interest to extract the maximum profit. If the government does this on its own, it will be a different ball game. The government, however, has to figure out how it can get this survey done and how it can be implemented,” says Kohli.
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.
