Cable TV
Cingular Wireless sets text messaging record for ‘American Idol’
MUMBAI: US wireless carrier Cingular Wireless has broken its own record for wireless text messaging during the fifth season of American Idol on Fox.
Cingular recorded more than 64.5 million text messages throughout the show’s season, breaking last year’s record of 41.5 million text messages.
Text messages include votes, trivia, sweepstakes, entries, TXT chats, fan club and vote number reminder. Cingular introduced a lot of American Idol themed content this season, but its newest offering, Live Idol Tones, stole the show. Cingular claims to have broken new ground in the music industry with the tones letting Cingular customers purchase and download ringtones and answer tones of select American Idol performances just 24 hours after they were performed live on the show.
Typically, traditional recorded music requires months to go from recording to distribution. Last week, Cingular’s Live Idol Tones category of ringtones was one of the top sellers.
Cingular Wireless VP marketing John Burbank says, “We are pleased to have played a role in what was another great season of American Idol. We knocked Idol-related text messaging out of the ballpark and added another home run with our Live Idol Tones which capitalised on the passion American Idol fans have for their favourite contestants.”
Cingular customers also had exclusive wireless access to American Idol throughout the season with services including TXT chats with Idol contestants and convenient vote number reminders listing all of the American Idol contestants who performed that week. In addition, Cingular customers also connected to the show through the Idol Wireless Fan Club which let them keep up with the latest Idol news, play Idol Trivia on their wireless devices or download “American Idol” -related ringtones such as the show’s theme song or songs from former Idol winners and contestants.
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.
