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TataSky closer to profit

September 27, 2012

By Chris Forrester

TataSky, the Indian pay-TV joint-venture between Rupert Murdoch’s Star TV operation and the Tata conglomerate, reported increased subscriber numbers and a narrower net loss on Sept 26.

Breaking out the hard numbers for TataSky is not easy because the company does not report its stand-alone figures, but net sales were up 18 per cent on the same period a year ago (to Indian Rupees 15.9 billion, up from  Rs13.5 billion), leading to an overall net loss of  Rs 2.98 billion, down from the previous year’s Rs 4.7 billion.

Market observers suggest that TataSky now has about 10 million subs, up from about 8.5 million in the previous year.

The challenge for the broadcaster is the accumulated losses, now totalling some Rs 43 billion. TataSky is raising cash through a debenture issue, said to be worth Rs 1.6 billion and is additionally anticipating a further boost to its income once the nation goes all-digital.

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