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WWIL narrows Q1 net loss to Rs 47.7 mn on back of carriage, STBs
MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra-promoted Wire and Wireless (India) Limited (WWIL) has narrowed its fiscal-first quarter net loss due to a 10 per cent jump in carriage income and deployment of digital set-top boxes (STBs).
The multi-system operator (MSO) has mopped up revenue of Rs 240 million from sale of STBs in the quarter ended June 2012.
“We have deployed close to one million STBs so far. Our estimated target in the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, which fall under the first phase of digitisation, is 2.5 million STBs. This quarter has been good for us and we have got Rs 230-240 million from activation charges (of STBs),” says WWIL COO Anil Malhotra.
WWIL‘s carriage revenue in the quarter stands at Rs 600 million, adds Malhotra.
The MSO had in the the quarter announced that it would offer local cable operators (LCOs) a share in carriage income in DAS (Digital Adressable Systems) markets. The government has set 31 October as the sunset date for digitisation, extending it by four months from the earlier deadline.
WWIL reported net loss of Rs 47.7 million for the quarter, down from Rs 420 million a year ago.Operating profit has jumped to Rs 277.4 million, from Rs 42.8 million.
Operating revenue rose 39.8 per cent to Rs 1.12 billion. “This has been one of our best quarters,” says Malhotra. “We have extended the momentum gained during the last fiscal into the first quarter of FY13. We are confident that the significant positive momentum of the business will not only continue to drive WWIL’s growth for the remainder of the fiscal year, but also strengthen the company for growth in the years to come.”
Consolidated operating expenses rose 12.6 per cent to Rs 857.6 million for the quarter ended June. Major cost item was cost of goods and services which stood at 600.5 million during the quarter, representing 53 per cent of the total revenue in comparison to Rs 567.3 million in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal (71 per cent share of the total revenue).
How will WWIL strengthen its presence in Mumbai where it has lost ground over the years to the other MSOs? “We are reworking our plans for Mumbai. We will have some announcement to make,” says Malhotra.
WWIL‘s debt stands at Rs 4.50 billion. “Our funding is in place to take care of digitisation,” avers Malhotra.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
