Cable TV

Core business flat, Hathway pushes digital, broadband

Published

21 years ago

June 11, 2005

Digital cable. Unique content channels. Broadband. These are the services we have to push forward. And we have to do it fast,” says Hathway Cable & Datacom chief executive officer K Jayaraman.

There is a sense of urgency in Hathway to set up an integrated revenue model as competition is lurking on the horizon from direct-to-home (DTH) and telecom operators who are planning entry into triple play service.

The company has invested over Rs 1.5 billion for the past two years to upgrade its cable network for offering digital and broadband services. For a short time in the past, resources have also been pumped to acquire primary customers from the last mile operators.

The big challenge, though, is how to scale up revenue from subscription, cable ISP and channel operations. Sources say the company‘s consolidated turnover (including subsidiaries Win Cable and Hathway Bhawani) increased to Rs 2.18 billion in 2004-05, up from Rs 1.94 billion a year ago. But it is still in a net loss situation and continues to face the threat of declining margins in all its revenue streams.

In the cable TV business, margins are as low as five per cent and falling further. Hathway, which had a payout of Rs 1.07 billion to broadcasters in 2003-04, has been trying to improve this by negotiating hard with broadcasters. But there is pressure this year to service the second pay channel bouquet as Hathway feels subscribers are not willing to bear the extra cost.

The tussle with broadcasters has already begun. On Tuesday, Star India served a one-month notice threatening to discontinue its channels if the contracted dues were not cleared. Incidentally, this is the first public face off between the two joint venture partners after Star had acquired a 26 per cent stake in Hathway.

Hathway‘s ability to protect margins in the subscription business will depend on the extent to which it is able to bargain with the broadcasters.

A way to grow in size is to acquire networks. Jayaraman, however, rules out the acquisition route as a feasible model for Hathway at this stage. The focus, instead, will be on organic growth. The multi system operator (MSO) reaches close to 2.5 million households, with around 44 headends across 11 cities where it provides cable services.

Though there has been a surge in the cable and satellite (C&S) households, Jayaraman says Hathway has not enjoyed any major growth from this. The last mile operators have pocketed most of this rise in subscriber base without declaring it to the MSOs.

There have been a few cases where the company has expressed its intent to expand though. Hathway Bhawani Cabletel & Datacom, a subsidiary company of Hathway which operates in central and eastern suburbs of Mumbai, has expanded its cable operations to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) township in Navi Mumbai.

But it has lost the contract to service Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) which has gone to Abhay Vision, a local operator. “We see a lot of construction activity in that area. We may expand to Karjat through secondary connections,” says Hathway Bhawani director Kulbhushan Puri.

With no major increase in subscribers, Hathway has been trying hard to increase the average revenue per user (ARPU). The regulation on subscription rates by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) makes this almost impossible. The way out is to push digital cable TV which will not only offer better quality image but also accommodate a heavy load of channels, currently impossible on the analogue system.

Hathway has rolled out digital services in four cities – Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune. The next destination is Bangalore, scheduled for launch later this month.

Hathway plans to expand to Punjab, Hyderabad and Nashik in the second phase for which it will use the Motorola DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexers) technology as the transport carrier solution. It has already used this technology for offering digital services in Pune, by having an underground fibre linkup from Mumbai. For the northern market, the digital headend will be in Delhi while Bangalore will service the southern language states and the western region will be connected from Mumbai as the hub.

The DWDM technology will enable digital television channels to be carried with Internet Protocol (IP) interface. It will also enable Hathway to carry data and voice, whenever it is ready to offer these services. “We clearly realise that digital is the way forward. We have already invested Rs 1 billion towards this and have the set-top boxes (STBs) with us. The expansion to the cities requires minor additional investments towards fibre links and transport equipment,” says Jayaraman.

Hathway is also planning to increase its channel offerings for its digital subscribers from 115 to 140 soon. The STBs cost Rs 4,000 but two instalment schemes are also available. Even with this, Hathway has managed to push just over 15,000 STBs in the market.

Revenue from cable channel operations has remained almost flat this year. The channels earned around Rs 180 million in 2004-05, a source says. CCC, the cable movie channel with a presence in 56 cities, is the top earner. Hathway also has ITV Music and local cable channels for the different cities where it provides cable service.

“We earn a small profit from the cable channels after amortisation. CCC faces competition from the satellite and other cable movie channels. It is a very competitive arena but we have our own space. We do not have ambitious expansion plans as there is a bandwidth constraint and distribution is expensive. Spreading it on new networks is an issue,” says Jayaraman. CCC is offered to non-Hathway networks as well so that the reach of the channel expands.

The big focus area is to scale up the broadband business where Hathway enjoys margins as high as 20 per cent. The service is available in nine out of the 11 cities where Hathway has a cable TV presence. The plan is to launch next in Jalandhar, leaving out only Vijaywada from the ambit.

Hathway has an ambitious plan to double its broadband subscribers. “We want to expand our broadband Internet subscriber base to 100,000 by 2006. We have a market-related pricing and have already introduced a download based scheme. Our broadband packages give the user access to various download limits and applications,” says Jayaraman.

Though Hathway has corporate clients, the focus is on the retail segment. The broadband business is growing at 30-40 per cent, adds Jayaraman.

Margins, however, are expected to decline due to pressure on prices with competition emerging from several players. Revenues, though, will increase as the subscriber base expands and the ARPU goes up.

Carriage or positioning fee has become an important revenue source as broadcasters battle for prime space on cable networks. Market estimates project Hathway to earn around Rs 150 million from this in the current fiscal. Jayaraman, however, refused to comment on this. But, as he says, placement fees are not something upon which the company can base its revenue plans.

Hathway‘s future growth will depend on how many digital and broadband subscribers it will be able to rope in. Says Jayaraman, “The current business model is not feasible. With the alternative delivery platforms coming in, we will have to compete on the digital space.”

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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.