Cable TV
Tamil Nadu cable TV industry incurs Rs 25 crore loss due to floods
MUMBAI: ’Twas Mother Nature’s fury at full throttle when the state of Tamil Nadu was flooded by the heaviest rainfall it has been privy to in the last century. Many lives were lost even as over three lakh people became homeless.
While the southern state is slowly inching back to normalcy from the unprecedented rains and floods, which engulfed whatever came in its way, the natural disaster had a massive impact on the media and entertainment industry as well. The entire cable TV ecosystem was brutally affected by the calamity. It may be recalled that for the last couple of weeks, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India hasn’t received television ratings data from the region too.
In the light of this disaster, a senior cable federation member from Chennai estimates the overall loss suffered by the cable industry to be close to Rs 25 crore. “We have done an on-ground survey and after a thorough analysis, we came to the estimate. Local cable operators (LCOs) will have to bear the majority of the loss as most of the fibre amplifier devices, which were damaged belong to them,” he adds.
While industry body ASSOCHAM estimated the overall financial loss from the torrential rains and floods in Tamil Nadu to be in excess of Rs 15,000 crore, the Rs 25 crore loss to the cable industry may even be a conservative one. The on-ground reality indeed paints a grim picture.
“Thousands of fibre amplifiers got affected. The LCOs are trying their level best to restore services but the damage is so massive that it will take at least a week or 10 days more to get things back on track,” added a senior official from the cable fraternity.
A fibre amplifier, which is located in the operating room of cable operators, costs around Rs 3500 and a large number of them were totally destroyed as they immersed in the flood water. Fortunately, no instance of head-end damaged could be traced.
An independent multi system operator (MSO), who was also affected by the natural calamity, said, “The head-ends are generally placed at a good height and hence they got saved. But my transmitter is totally damaged. The flood has damaged cable operations brutally, and to restore services it will take me more than 15 days at least.”
“The transmitter costs Rs 50,000 and I have to invest in a new one,” he adds.
The other equipment that was damaged in the flood and needs serious investment is Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA), which is an optical repeater device used to boost the intensity of optical signals being carried through a fiber optic communications system. “I need to invest Rs 1.5 lakh in my EDFA and there are many other such operators who will have to change their EDFA,” said an LCO.
While some equipments may be under warranty, it is unlikely that the warranty applies in the case of natural disasters. A looming question is also that of insurance. All said and done, many LCOs and MSOs affected severely by the flood will have to bend over backwards in order to get their system back on.
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.
