Cable TV
Ortel Communications makes below par debut on bourses
BENGALURU: Ortel Communications Limited (Ortel) debuted at Rs 160.05 per share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), about 11.6 per cent below its listing price or Rs 181 per share on 19 March. The company had issued its shares at Rs 181 each early this month in its initial public offer (IPO), which was under subscribed by about 25 per cent.
The high for the day was Rs 168.05 and it closed at Rs 162.25 on the NSE. Close to 26520 shares traded on the NSE at traded value of about Rs 43.90 lakh.
Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the stock breached the lower circuit of Rs 171.95 with a turnover of Rs 5.11 lakh and a total traded quantity of 2964 shares.
Financial industry sources explain that though the company is in the last mile connectivity business, its performance over the last few years has been dismal and hence the poor opening.
The Ortel IPO opened on 3 March, 2015 for up to 1.2 crore (12 million) equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each including a share premium per equity share. The price band was fixed from Rs 181 to Rs 200 per equity share. The issue constituted 39.25 per cent of Ortel’s fully diluted post-issue paid up equity share capital and included up to 60 lakh fresh issue shares and 60 lakh shares by the selling shareholder NSR-PE Mauritius LLC. Facing a lukewarm response, the company had to cut the offer size by 36.7 lakh shares, pruning the NSR component from the IPO to that extent.
The company had allotted 25.57425 lakh equity shares (28.416 per cent of QIB portion) at the rate of Rs 181 per share aggregating Rs 46.29 crore to Axis Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, before the IPO opened.
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.
