Cable TV
TBS to digitise assets, bring transmission in house
MUMBAI: Turner Broadcasting System Europe (TBS) Limited is all set to bring transmission in house after doing a review of all strategic options for the future of the playout of its entertainment channels.
The decision comes in the wake of company’s initiative to digitise its assets and will involve building a new facility and hiring 40 additional staff members at its Great London headquarters.
Almost 12,000 hours worth of company’s entertainment content including films and cartoons for Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami and TCM will be digitised, enabling Turner’s network of channels throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to be broadcast from video servers under automated control.
The new facility is scheduled to launch on 1 January 2006, replacing the company’s existing tape playout services from Ascent Media. It is the start of a project which will allow electronic delivery of films, cartoons and advertisements, facilitate the addition of new channels and ultimately enable staff to browse assets on their desktops.
“Digitising the library will put Turner in a strong position to take advantage of emerging revenue streams and new work flows such as VoD, broadband, mobile and integrated playout and production. We have been extremely satisfied with Ascent’s service but bringing the system in-house will give us total control and flexibility over the entire channel creation process,” said Turner Entertainment Networks senior vice-president and general manager Tina McCann.
McCann is leading this project with the company’s network operations vice-president Gabby Redfern and engineering vice-president Steve Fish.
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.
