Cable TV
Sky Cable partners with SES to launch DTH satellite TV in Philippines
MUMBAI: SES has announced a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement with Sky Cable, broadcasting direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV channels via SES satellites at 108.2 degrees East – the SES-9 and NSS-11 satellites.
The contracted capacity will enable Sky Cable to effectively roll out a nation-wide DTH satellite TV service across 251 cities and municipalities in the Philippine archipelago, complementing its existing cable offerings. The recently launched SES-9 is scheduled to enter service mid-year to provide incremental and replacement capacity at SES’s prime neighbourhood of 108.2 degrees East which reaches 22 million homes.
Sky Cable will be drawing on SES’s capabilities and global expertise of serving more than 40 DTH platforms worldwide hosted on SES’s comprehensive satellite network, to deliver high-quality content to homes across the Philippines. This includes broadcasting linear TV content to remote locations and islands that are underserved by terrestrial networks. Sky Cable currently offers cable TV services for 55 High Definition (HD) channels to 800,000 subscribers in 19 cities and municipalities in the Philippines.
“The geography of the Philippines presents a unique set of challenges for fibre or terrestrial connectivity. Our satellites are able to overcome these limitations and provide comprehensive and high-powered coverage over the entire archipelago including under-connected areas in the Philippines. We are glad to support Sky Cable as they use both ground and space infrastructure to expand their TV audience reach,” says SES Asia-Pacific and the Middle East senior vice president commercial Deepak Mathur.
“This latest contract on SES-9 shows the continued momentum of serving our prime DTH neighbourhoods on our largest satellite dedicated for Asia-Pacific.”
SkyCable COO Antonio S Ventosa said, “We are pleased to tap SES’s global expertise and extensive satellite footprint as we venture into providing satellite TV services for our growing subscriber base. We are confident that with our partnership with SES, we will be able to deliver content seamlessly to potential new customers all across the country.”
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.
