Cable TV
Free Dish grows by 11 per cent across rural, urban households: Chrome DM
Mumbai: Chrome Data Analytics & Media has announced the results for its bi-annual subscriber establishment survey (SES) and released a November report based on a Pan India ground survey conducted between April to June, 2021.
The periodic study was conducted by Chrome DM to understand the changing landscape of the TV universe, and represents 209.3 million TV households in the country across a sample taking one out of every 175 households. The results capped off a substantial jump in Cable and Satellite (C&S) homes by 7.3 per cent, where the subscriber base has seen a jump from 167.9 to 180.1 million households.
As per the SES November 2021 report, there has been a sizable growth in Free- Dish by a giant margin of 11.1 per cent where it maintains a northward climb in both rural and urban India. Pay DTH also saw a prominent jump by reaching a net total growth of 8.5 per cent while the same results also showed a progressive rise in digital cable by 4.1 per cent.
The survey also illustrates the downward decline of the almost extinct analog cable by a remarkable margin of 80.9 per cent. While over 27,755 households retained the analog subscriptions back in December 2020, the number has dropped to just over 5306 households in the month of June 2021.
Chrome DM founder and CEO Pankaj Krishna said, “OTT is here and TV continues to rule with over 200 million plus base in India. I am glad to see an upswing in the overall cable & satellite subscriber numbers which have grown from ~167 million in December 2020 to ~180 million now.”
SES is mainly used by broadcasters to optimise distribution revenues by way of identifying cable network footprints, outline promotions and generate media hype, audit threshold subscription numbers based on Operator’s CAS report and minimise Carriage fee spends – Chrome Distribution Investments Index.
Chrome SES November 2021 report also offers data and analytics that provide ranging insights which go beyond the broadcast industry. These audits can be used to understand the forthcoming market trends while allowing various media planners and associated advertisers to gather deep insights into the changing fluctuations, viewer distribution and the ever-evolving mood of the subscribers.
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.
