Cable TV
Marketing Interactive calls for entries for awards show
MUMBAI: As Hollywood hands out the Oscars early Monday morning 6 March in Los Angeles, statuette manufacturer R.S. Owens will be hard at work on its newest creation—a 24-karat gold finished trophy for the MI6 Awards.
Marketing Interactive in the US is calling for entries for its inaugural awards show. The statuettes will be awarded to industry professionals for creative and marketing achievement during a special ceremony closing the MI6 Conference in June.
Among the more than 50 categories slated are Product Television Ad, Product Website, Interactive Experience Promotion, Most Innovative Marketing Strategy, PR Campaign, Art Direction & Design: Logo and The MI6 Student Marketing Award.” Winning entries will be drawn from the highest scoring finalists within each category. Online entry deadline is 7 April 2006.
Under the leadership of Microsoft, G4 Television and Promax/BDA, MI6 is a new conference specifically founded for the professionals who create the consumer demand and passion for electronic games. The MI6 Conference and Awards Show will kick off in San Francisco on 27 June with the awards being presented at the conclusion of the conference on 28 June 2006.
Promax/BDA president and CEO Jim Chabin says, “The gaming and interactive industry is a multi-billion dollar business, yet the people that are responsible for driving this sector’s consumer passions are not being fully recognized for their work. MI6 is a nonprofit initiative created to give interactive and game marketers the recognition they so richly deserve from their own peers in the industry.”
MI6 will offer its participants professional development and education through special key note addresses, custom research, seminars and workshops, all designed to impart knowledge and learn from the experiences of other professionals in the entertainment arena while also fostering industry networking, idea sharing and mentoring.
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.
