Cable TV
MTV multi-platform debut in Canada from 21 March
MUMBAI: It’s a historic day not just for Canadian audiences, but for Canada’s creative and production communities too. The MTV brand debuts today in Canada. The Toronto based CTV will replace the name of its talktv speciality channel with the MTV brand.
The MTV launch represents the biggest multi-platform launch among all 49 worldwide MTV services comprising the MTV Networks International family, according to MTV Networks International president and MTV Networks vice chairman Bill Roedy.
The MTV brand will debut in 360 degree fashion, across six different platforms. The ‘Six Arms of MTV’ will incorporate numerous distribution strategies including conventional and specialty channel platforms, mobile, Video On Demand (VOD) and in pioneering fashion, across a newly created premium broadband service, MTV Overdrive, the first of its kind in Canada.
MTV is a newly branded Canadian analog specialty service and offers a winning schedule, infused with lifestyle, talk and documentary programming.
In an official statement, the networks claims that the channel will immediately be available in 6 million Canadian households via all major cable and DTH services.
Newly created MTVonCTV branded blocks of programming will be seen six nights a week across Canada on CTV’s conventional stations.
MTV Overdrive is a new broadband channel that represents a
first-of-its-kind in Canada. The free premium video service harnesses the latest in technology to deliver MTV content to anyone at broadband speeds. On demand are full-length MTV programs, daily MTV News, custom short-form programming, movie and game reviews and much more. In addition to providing MTV-branded content, Overdrive is MTV’s answer to music authenticity in Canada with exclusive MTV music events, artist interviews, live performances and thousands of music videos.
On Mobile will have exclusively produced MTV mobisodes and made for mobile programming by individual carriers and also via cross-carrier mobile distribution, MTV Mobile showcases a range of MTV programs that include video, soundtrack ring-tones, wallpapers and more, all available for download via mobile phones and directly off the mtv.ca website.
Video on Demand comes with an extensive line-up of MTV hit programs immediately available. In addition, MTV is now underway with plans for an additional distribution strategy to make MTV’s hit programs available to portable video devices.
“A new chapter in Canadian media, employing multiple platforms and
interactivity, begins. The future is now,” said Bell Globemedia president and CEO and CTV Inc CEO Ivan Fecan.
“It’s a landmark day for Canada’s creative community and viewers from coast-to-coast. A culturally vibrant country like ours deserves its own MTV. Sharing Canada’s creative talent with the world through MTV’s worldwide network puts Canada on the world stage. It’s where we belong,” said CTV programming president Susanne
Boyce.
MTV, in the official statement revealed an extensive list of 23 advertising partners who have inked multi-platform sponsorship deals to be on-board for day one. They include Bell Mobility, Cadbury Adams, Clean & Clear and Neutrogena Deep Clean, Coca Cola, Colgate Palmolive Canada Inc., Columbia Brewery, Dairy Farmers of Canada Milk, General Motors of Canada, KFC Canada, Kraft Canada, Labatt Breweries of Canada, McDonalds Restaurants of Canada Limited, Mission: Impossible III, Molson Canadian, Motorola, Nike, Nokia Products Limited, Pepsico, Sony Entertainment – the Benchwarmers, Taco Bell, Telus and West 49.
MTV’s multiplatform advertising opportunities will allow clients’ brands to reach millions of consumers via an array of on-air and digital assets,
including the broadband service MTV Overdrive.
“The incredible response from clients and the agency community is confirmation that we are on target with the brand, our content and the distribution strategy,” said MTV Canada sr VP and general manager Brad Schwartz. “We want to acknowledge all 23 partners who have joined the MTV business from day One. Our goal is to make MTV the preferred destination for advertisers, large and small, and we look forward to growing together with all of our partners.”
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.
