| Though
ChrysCapital has invested in Hathway Cable
& Datacom, it does not expect any quick
returns. "We have taken a bet and are
in it for the long run," Vasudevan said.
The
cable TV market lacks the right amount of
investment towards digitalization and the
ability to charge more because of the price
regulation.
Partnerships
and consolidation need to happen. What will
aid this process is a high level of competition,
investments and regulation. "We are
already seeing competition coming in from
direct-to-home (DTH) service providers.
And they are making front-end investments
like subsidizing boxes," Vasudevan
said.
A
word of caution came from others in the
financial community as they felt that the
media companies were running high valuations.
"People
are starting to question the two basic drivers
– advertising and subscription revenues.
New channels are being launched and they
will be taking away incremental share from
the existing players," said Kotak Securities
co-head institutional equities Sanjeev Prasad.
Agreed
GE commercial finance (media) Asia Pacific
MD Bhupesh Gupta: "We are also seeing
elements in India that have not worked in
other parts of the world."
Digicable
CEO Jagjit Kohli said it would be tough
for any new cable TV operator to rope in
investments. "I was fortunate to get
a strong private equity investor but that
was perhaps because I had a track record.
We are planning a pan india network and
have started acquisitions," he added.
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