1. At a Glance
Sun TV Network Ltd is that rare Indian media company which prints cash like a PSU dividend brochure, yet trades like the market has already mentally retired it. Current market cap stands at ₹21,162 Cr, stock price around ₹537, down ~15% over the last one year, while the company casually throws ~₹1,600+ Cr PAT annually and maintains 50%+ operating margins like it’s still 2010.
Q3 FY26 numbers?
Revenue ₹862 Cr, PAT ₹324 Cr, operating margin 49%, EPS ₹8.22 for the quarter. No leverage drama, no pledges, no desperate acquisitions (mostly), and promoter holding locked at 75% like a family heirloom.
But here’s the catch:
Revenue growth is sleepy, OTT is nibbling at TV eyeballs, and ad budgets behave like monsoon rains—erratic and seasonal.
So the real question:
Is Sun TV a boring cash cow… or a misunderstood southern monopoly slowly being written off too early?
Let’s dig in. 🍿
2. Introduction
Sun TV Network is the kind of company your CA uncle loves and your momentum-chasing Twitter finfluencer ignores.
Founded in 1985, flagship channel launched in 1993, Sun TV didn’t just ride the South Indian TV boom—it practically created it. Tamil households grew up with Sun TV running in the background like ambient oxygen.
Fast forward to today, and Sun TV runs 31 channels across 6 languages, owns Sun Pictures, operates SUNNXT OTT, runs FM radio, and even owns IPL + global T20 franchises. Basically, they own attention—just not always the kind the market currently drools over.
Financially, the company is absurdly profitable.
Strategically, it’s conservative. Market sentiment? Mildly bored.
And boredom is dangerous—because boring companies often become value traps… or multi-year compounders when nobody is watching.
Which one is Sun TV becoming?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Sun TV Network does three main things:
- Television Broadcasting (Core Cash Machine)
- General Entertainment Channels (GECs) across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi & Bangla
- Flagship Sun TV ranks #1 in Tamil Nadu/Pondicherry and Top 5 nationally in GEC viewership
- Content Production & Movies (Sun Pictures)
- Owns and monetizes film rights, satellite rights, digital rights
- This keeps content costs under control and margins fat
- Adjacencies: Radio, OTT, Sports Franchises
- SUNNXT OTT platform
- Red FM / Suryan FM via JV
- Sunrisers Hyderabad (IPL)
- Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SA20)
- Recently expanded global cricket presence further
Translation for lazy investors:
Sun TV owns eyeballs in South India, monetizes them via ads + subscriptions, and reinvests excess cash into content and optionality bets like sports and OTT.
Not flashy. Very effective.
4. Financials Overview (Q3 FY26 – Quarterly Results)
Quarterly Comparison Table (₹ Cr)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Dec FY26) | YoY Qtr | Prev Qtr | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 862 | 923 | 1,300 | -6.6% | -33.7% |
| EBITDA | 420 | 589 | 754 | -28.7% | -44.3% |
| PAT | 324 | 454 | 355 | -28.6% | -8.7% |
| EPS (₹) | 8.22 | 11.52 | 8.99 | -28.6% | -8.6% |
