Cable TV
Tamil Nadu & DAS: Arasu issues notice against MediaPro
BENGALURU: Even as the Madras High Court has warned the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) not to take any coercive actions against Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV), the latter has taken steps to protect its interests in the state.
The government owned MSO issued a public notice on 25 December, cautioning subscribers that the channels under MediaPro Enterprises India (MediaPro) would be disconnected 21 days after the issue of the notice.
Arasu has a presence in 27 districts in Tamil Nadu, having leased the headends of private MSOs there.
The public notice states that the MSO has decided to take this action as the aggregator is in breach of letter of acceptance and non-conclusion of price negotiation between the two. It warns subscribers and LCOs that they may not be able to view the channels on their TV sets 21 days from the date of publication of the notice. However, the MSO informs its subscribers and LCOs that alternate channels will be available for viewing in place of these 59 channels.
The notice has been issued under section 4.2 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) Telecommunications (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection Regulations 2004.
Unconfirmed reports allege that TNACTV has been arm twisting pay channel broadcasters and distributors to pay carriage fees to make up a for a mismatch of revenue and payouts to pay channels of about 40 percent. According to TRAI, Arasu Cable, that is still delivering its services on analogue, has about 6 million subscribers under it in Tamil Nadu making up for a huge chunk of the 13 million cable TV homes in the state.
MediaPro was unavailable for comment at the time of filing this report. There are 59 channels listed including Star Vijay, Zee Tamizh, Asianet, Asianet Plus and several other Hindi, English and regional channels from the Star and Zee stable which MediaPro distributes.
Whether the impact of Arasu clipping Mediapro will be heavy or not, nobody is willing to bet. However, prima facie the channels which would be impacted would be the English entertainment and movie channels, Zee Tamizh, Star Vijay, Asianet, and to a certain extent the kids, sports, news and factual entertainment channels which go to form the Mediapro bouquet However, the main drivers of the bouquet Zee TV and Star Plus would be impacted marginally, since Hindi is not a preferred viewing option in Tamil Nadu.
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.
