Cable TV

Cable guy weathers the storm

Published

21 years ago

August 2, 2005

As Ganpat Gaikwad stands in front of the slums in Kalyan, a town on the outskirts of Mumbai, he shakes his head in disbelief at the damage caused by the worst-ever rainfall the belt witnessed in a century.

A devastated Kalyan

“Almost 70 per cent of my network is damaged. The repair work will be over Rs 1.5 million. This is the worst situation I have ever faced,” he says, recollecting the 10 years since he has been running his cable network, Tisai Satellite Service, as an independent operator.

That has not stopped Gaikwad to fight against all odds to get his cable TV service up and running within three days in an area that was struggling to get its basic necessities like electricity and telephone connections in place. “We have managed to restore 80 per cent of our network,” he says.

Gaikwad will leave untouched the slums where his cable network used to run but now stands completely ruined. “It is no use investing in these areas now as people have lost almost everything here, including their television sets. We will do the work later,” he says.

Gaikwad is just one example of how the cable TV operators withstood the fury of the rains to quickly restore services so that consumers could get the latest news on the telly. Even as Mumbai was reduced to a standstill, cable TV largely remained uninterrupted.

Says Hathway Cable & Datacom chief executive officer K Jayaraman, “We could offer cable TV to 99 per cent of the areas where we operate. In case of broadband Internet, we covered 90 per cent of the belt. Our technicians were very supportive and I was monitoring from office for two continuous days. We coped up with the situation.”

Hathway‘s services were, however, disrupted for a day in Mira Road and Kandivili, located in the western suburbs of Mumbai. Water gushed into the headends, affecting the equipment, and cable TV could be restored only the next day.

There was no such issue by and large in the central and eastern suburbs of Mumbai serviced by Hathway Bhawani Cabletel & Datacom. The control room is on the third floor and there was enough fuel to put the generator on as power supply failed in the area.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) township in Navi Mumbai also received cable TV services. “We have a full power pass system. We had a stock of diesel. We could offer our services without any major problem,” says Hathway Bhawani director Kulbhushan Puri.

As for Hathway‘s services in South Mumbai, where the city‘s powerbrokers reside, there were of course no major complaints. The south was after all spared the fury of Mumbai‘s Great Deluge.

Incablenet also had no major disruptions except in a few pockets. The Hinduja-promoted multi system operator (MSO) has a centralised headend, giving it a distinct advantage. “We were not affected as we have one headend supplying to the local operators,” says Incablenet president Manoj Motwani.

Seven Star, which offers services in the western suburbs of Mumbai like Andheri, also withstood the havoc played by the rain. The control room was protected and there was no major breakdown. “Our people were working, trying to repair minor damages. It was an unusual time and people wanted to watch news channels. Besides, most of them were at home after the first heavy downpour last Tuesday. Our workers even slept in our offices. But wherever there was an electricity problem, we couldn‘t help,” says Seven Star director Atul Saraf.

Siticable‘s headend in Ghatkopar, a north-eastern suburb in Mumbai, was badly damaged. The other two control rooms at Dharavi and Mulund, however, were protected.

Admits Ravi Singh, a joint venture partner in Siticable who operates from Ghatkopar: “Water went into the control room as it is in the ground floor. We couldn‘t offer service for two days. The 3-km fibre connecting Nahar to Hiranandani in Powai was also damaged. Now it is being serviced from the second route through Vikhroli. We have to replace that with new fibre.”

The three transmitters in Kurla (north-eastern suburb) have also gone, adds Singh. “We have not been able to fully restore the signals in the Kurla-Kalina belt. It will take us another couple of days. The total damage is above Rs 500,000.”

The other MSOs are assessing the damage their equipment has suffered. Says Jayaraman, “Amplifiers and headend equipments have suffered damage.” Adds Incablenet chief operating officer Srinivas Palakodeti: “There has been damage. We are currently evaluating the losses.”

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Cable TV

Den Networks Q3 profit steady despite revenue pressure

Published

2 months ago

January 19, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

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.

Cable TV

Plugging along as Hathway tunes in steady profits this quarter

Published

2 months ago

January 17, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: In a quarter where staying connected mattered more than moving fast, Hathway Cable and Datacom kept its signal steady. The cable and broadband major reported a net profit of Rs 21.7 crore for the December 2025 quarter, marking a clear improvement from Rs 13.6 crore a year earlier, even as pressures persisted in parts of its operating portfolio.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, revenue from operations stood largely flat at Rs 536.6 crore, compared with Rs 511.2 crore in the same period last year. Including other income of Rs 21.1 crore, total income rose to Rs 557.7 crore, reflecting incremental gains despite a competitive media and connectivity landscape.

Profitability improved on the back of disciplined cost control and higher contribution from associates. Profit before tax increased to Rs 28.2 crore, up from Rs 19.1 crore in Q3 FY25, aided by Rs 3.9 crore in share of profit from associates and joint ventures. After tax, earnings for the quarter climbed nearly 60 per cent year-on-year.

Over the nine months ended December 31, 2025, Hathway reported a net profit of Rs 71 crore, compared with Rs 57.7 crore in the corresponding period last year. Total income for the nine months came in at Rs 1,677.3 crore, up from Rs 1,599.8 crore, while profit before tax rose to Rs 94.7 crore from Rs 84.2 crore.

A closer look at the segments shows a familiar split story. The cable television business remained under pressure, reporting a segment loss of Rs 11.4 crore for the quarter, though this narrowed sharply from the Rs 16.6 crore loss seen a year ago. In contrast, the broadband business returned to the black, delivering a modest but positive contribution of Rs 4.2 crore, helped by associate income. Dealing in securities continued to be a bright spot, generating Rs 14.7 crore in quarterly profits.

Costs stayed broadly contained. Pay channel costs, the single largest expense, rose to Rs 287.4 crore, while depreciation and amortisation stood at Rs 74 crore. Finance costs remained negligible at Rs 0.2 crore, keeping leverage risks in check.

Hathway’s earnings per share for the quarter improved to Rs 0.12, up from Rs 0.08 a year ago. The company maintained a strong balance sheet, with total assets of Rs 5,302.4 crore and total liabilities of Rs 848.9 crore as of December 31, 2025.

While structural challenges persist in the traditional cable business, the numbers suggest Hathway is slowly recalibrating its mix trimming losses where needed, leaning on associate income, and keeping the broadband engine ticking. For now, the company may not be racing ahead, but it is clearly staying tuned in to profitability.

Cable TV

Signal drop Tejas Networks’ numbers stay patchy in a volatile quarter

Published

2 months ago

January 10, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: In telecom, even the strongest signals face interference and Tejas Networks Limited’s latest numbers show just how noisy the airwaves remain. The Tata Group-backed networking firm reported unaudited standalone revenue of Rs 305.72 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, up sequentially from Rs 261.37 crore in the September quarter, but sharply lower compared with the Rs 2,642.05 crore clocked in the year-ago period. The topline recovery, however, was overshadowed by a pre-tax loss of Rs 303.20 crore, widening from a Rs 473.03 crore loss in the previous quarter, and reversing a Rs 211.06 crore profit reported in the December 2024 quarter.

After tax, the company posted a loss of Rs 196.89 crore for Q3 FY26, compared with a loss of Rs 307.17 crore in Q2 FY26 and a profit of Rs 165.42 crore a year earlier. For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, Tejas Networks reported revenue of Rs 769.02 crore and a loss after tax of Rs 697.97 crore, a sharp swing from a Rs 512.67 crore profit in the corresponding nine-month period last year. The numbers reflect a year marked by execution challenges rather than demand collapse.

Costs remained the dominant spoiler. Total expenses for the December quarter stood at Rs 616.50 crore, driven by elevated material costs, employee expenses and provisioning. The company also flagged several one-offs and adjustments: a Rs 9.85 crore provision linked to the implementation of new labour codes, ₹24.35 crore in warranty provisions, and reversals related to inventory obsolescence. Earlier quarters had already absorbed heavy charges tied to contract manufacturing losses, design changes and write-downs, the hangover from which continues to weigh on profitability.

Tejas reiterated that it operates as a single reportable segment focused on telecom and data networking products and services, offering little insulation from sector-wide volatility. While revenue momentum has stabilised sequentially, the contrast with the previous financial year remains stark. For context, the company closed FY25 with audited standalone revenue of Rs 8,915.73 crore and a profit after tax of Rs 450.66 crore, underscoring how sharply the operating environment has shifted in FY26.

The results were reviewed by the audit committee and approved by the board on January 9, 2026, but they leave investors with a familiar question: when does recovery turn structural rather than episodic? For now, Tejas Networks appears to be in reset mode, balancing execution clean-up with cost discipline. In a sector where margins can be as fragile as fibre strands, the next few quarters will matter as much as the signals the company sends to the market.