Cable TV
Unlicensed Pune cable TV operators get warning from entertainment department
Mumbai: Pune city authorities are cracking the whip on errant cable TV operators. According to reports, the Maharashtra state entertainment department has warned cable operators to renew their annual licences with the post office within the next month. Failing this, they would be penalized and face severe action.
The metro has about 1,000 cable TV operators serving about 500,000 subscribers. About 40 per cent of these have not renewed their licences despite being told by the authorities to do so. One of the reasons they have been delaying this, says observers, is their reluctance to pay entertainment tax.
The additional district collector met up with the cable TV operators in Pune and its surrounding areas, following which local officers decided to get tough with them.
Pune falls in the DAS area and cable TV operators have been mandated by government order to deliver cable TV signals to subscribers through a set top box, which would allow them to decide which channels they would like to watch. For this they would have to maintain, CAF forms as well as a list of channels that subscribers are signing up for.
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.
