Cable TV
Ready to formulate news coverage ‘guidelines’, IBF members assure govt.
NEW DELHI: After surrogate advertising and ‘offensive’ music videos on television channels, it’s the turn of news channels to feel the heat from the government.
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation today at a meeting decided that there is a need to formulate some guiding principles for covering news for television channels. In the interim, the news channels would strictly follow the guidelines that have been laid out in the Cable TV (Networks) Regulation Act and show some restraint while covering events like terrorist attacks.
The guidelines for the news channels would be formulated as a soon as possible, after a consensus through consultation process with IBF members. After its formulation, the guidelines would be sent to the government.
Today’s IBF meeting, attended by news channel heads of various organisations, were told that the Indian government has requested the IBF to discuss the issue amongst members through a missive sent earlier and that a set of guidelines have to be evolved for news channels.
The government provocation came after defence forces allegedly complained that coverage of some events interfered with their operations. A case that has been repeatedly brought up by the government to highlight this is the attack on the Akshardham temple in the state of Gujarat where terrorists held some devotees captives and the administration to ransom, before being taken out by commandos during a rescue mission that lasted over 12 hours.
In this case the defence forces had complained that live coverage of the rescue mission on television caused inconveniences in carrying out official duties, especially when it involved human lives.
At today’s IBF meeting issues like airing of video that could cause trauma (like the recently assassinated Gujarat politician Hiren Pandya’s bullet-riddled body) were also discussed.
Those who attended the meeting included Star News president Ravina Raj Kohli, her deputy Sanjay Pugalia, Sahara Samay’s Arup Ghosh and TV Today Network’s news director Uday Shankar.
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.
