Cable TV
Udaya – Karnataka cable fraternity tussle continues
BANGALORE: Claims and counter claims continue to overcast the Karnataka airwaves over the issue of Udaya network making Udaya TV, Udaya News and Ushe TV pay channels.
While Udaya claims that all the three channels are on throughout Karnataka, the Karnataka State Cable TV Operators Association (KSCOA) says around 60 per cent of the State has blocked Udaya.
Talks between Udaya network and Karnataka cable operators on 9 August had failed as the Karnataka State Cable TV Operators Association’s proposal to Udaya to keep Udaya News and Ushe TV as pay channels and Udaya TV a free-to-air channel was turned down.
Udaya TV vice-president Vijay Kumar claims that the cable operators have been informed about the network’s plans to go pay about one and half years ago. But KSCOA spokesperson Ponnacha argues that the promise was to keep Udaya TV free-to-air channel while making the other two – Ushe TV and Udaya News – pay.
Ponnacha reminds that there has been a freeze on the cable subscription fees since December 2003, by a TRAI notification. According to him, Udaya had no reply to this issue during the failed talks between cable TV operators.
On the Udaya ban issue, Kumar affirms, “We are on throughout Karnataka – every district is receiving our signal and few regions are not receiving Udaya mainly, because, our decoder boxes have not reached them. Some cable operators in a few areas only are not covering Udaya.” Kumar claimed that some of these cable operators had been facing strong opposition from subscribers on the issue.
The director of a Multi System Operator (MSO) in East Karnataka revealed he had restarted Udaya to avoid subscribers’ ire, “However if blanking out Udaya is done throughout Karnataka, we will definitely co-operate with the Association,” he added.
Asks another cable operator, “The association called us to Bangalore, requesting us to blank out Udaya. But when no MSO has stopped the signal in Bangalore, why then block Udaya outside Bangalore?” He added that he’d cooperate if the decision to ban Udaya was implemented by all the operators.
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.
