Cable TV
Reliance Jio to soft launch with two lakh ‘privileged’ subscribers
MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm is all set to soft launch its telecom services brand Reliance Jio on 28 December, 2015 by handing out two lakhs cards to hand-picked ‘privileged’ people as a part of the launch.
It may be recalled that Indiantelevision.com was the first to report that Reliance Jio would soft launch on the eve of Dhirubhai Ambani’s birth anniversary (28 December) this year.
Reliance Jio has been running test signals from a month now wherein the company’s employees have also been availing the services.
A senior Reliance Jio official on condition of anonymity told Indiantelevision.com, “We will analyse the performance of our services over the next two months and a consumer base of two lakh is robust enough for that. After thorough analysis, we will do our commercial roll-out by March 2016.”
The official added, “Our price package will be way lower than what is available in the market at this stage. We are entering a market where we want to have the largest number of subscribers and we will do that by providing the best services at the lowest price.”
With a pan India MSO (multi-system operator) license under its belt, Reliance Jio is also in talks with both broadcasters and cable operators for their cable TV services. “By next month we will start signing deals. The technology is already in place and now we will focus on content deals. The work on cable TV front is also progressing at a good pace and by April we plan to start with 20 cities,” informed the official.
Launching in a highly competitive market with multiple players, be it in the telecom or the cable space, it now remains to be seen how Reliance Jio’s pricing and service offerings are a notch above the rest.
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.
