Cable TV
DEN divests further 25 per cent from Delhi Dynamos
MUMBAI: Indian cable TV major DEN Networks is increasingly getting itself out of the sports den it had gotten itself into earlier. Today, the Sameer Manchanda-promoted SN Sharma-run Goldman Sachs-backed multisystem operator (MSO) informed the BSE that it had divested another 25 per cent equity from its sports initiative DEN Sports in favour of Wall Street Investments.
The latter represents the business interests of the UAE-based entrepreneur Dr Anil Sharma-run GMS group. GMS is a world major buyer of ships for recycling.
The price at which the equity stake has been transferred was not disclosed to the stock exchange, but Wall Street Investments holding in DEN Sports has gone up to 80 per cent equity while DEN Network’s has fallen to 20 per cent. DEN Sports controls 100 per cent of DEN Soccer which manages the Indian Soccer League Delhi-franchise owning Delhi Dynamos F.C.
Wall Street Investments, on its part, has received Registrar of Companies permission to change the name of the two firms to Delhi Sports and Delhi Soccer. And DEN Networks also gave the name change the go-ahead following a board meeting.
Earlier this year, DEN Networks had lopped off 55 per cent of its stake in DEN Sports to Wall Street Investments at a price of Rs 43.32 crore.
The cable TV firm has been under pressure from its investors to get back to business basics and monetise better the cable TV digitisation process that India has been going through over the past three years. It rehired co-founder SN Sharma from Reliance Jio as the CEO to get its house in order.
Cable TV
Hathway Cable appoints Gurjeev Singh Kapoor as CEO
Leadership change comes as cable TV faces shrinking subscriber base and modest earnings pressure
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable and Datacom has tapped industry veteran Gurjeev Singh Kapoor as chief executive officer, marking a leadership pivot at a time when India’s cable television business is under mounting strain.
Kapoor will take over from Tavinderjit Singh Panesar, who is set to retire in August after a long innings with the company. Panesar, chief executive since 2023, has held multiple leadership roles at Hathway, including his latest stint beginning in 2022.
Kapoor brings more than three decades of experience in media and entertainment. He most recently led distribution at The Walt Disney Company’s Star India business, now part of JioStar. His career spans television distribution and affiliate partnerships, with stints at Sony Pictures Networks India, Discovery Communications and Zee Entertainment.
Panesar, with over three decades in the industry, has worked across strategic planning, distribution and business development in media, broadcasting and manufacturing. His past associations include ESPN Star Sports, Star India, Apollo Tyres and JK Industries.
The transition lands as the cable sector grapples with structural disruption. Traditional operators are losing ground to streaming platforms, while telecom and broadband players tighten the squeeze with bundled offerings.
An EY report estimates India’s pay-TV base could shrink by a further 30 to 40 million households by 2030, taking the total down to 71 to 81 million. The slide follows a loss of nearly 40 million homes between 2018 and 2024, a contraction that has already wiped out more than 37,000 jobs in the local cable operator ecosystem.
Hathway’s numbers reflect the strain. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 93 crore for FY25, down from Rs 99 crore a year earlier. Revenue inched up to Rs 2,040 crore from Rs 1,981 crore. As of December 2025, it had about 4.7 million cable TV subscribers and roughly 1.02 million broadband users.
Kapoor steps in with a familiar brief but a shrinking playbook. In a market where viewers are cutting cords faster than companies can reinvent them, the new chief executive inherits a business fighting to stay plugged in.
