Cable TV
Moving Picture India makes doc for HBO US on the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl
MUMBAI: HBO Documentary Films in the US has teamed up with India’s Moving Picture Company, First Take and Anant Singh’s Distant Horizon for the feature documentary The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl.
Narrated by CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, the film is directed and produced by Ahmed A. Jamal, Ramesh Sharma and Anant Singh.
Sharma says that the documentary took two years to make. “It took two years to make this 90 minute documentary film. It tracks the parallel lives of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and jihadi Omar Sheikh. I was doing a research for a film Jihad The Sword of islam. I came across this fascinating story of Pearl and Sheikh. Both were highly educated individuals from privileged backgrounds, the two men saw the world differently. What was interesting was that they had seemingly similar passion and commitment.
” Pearl was a humanist, who spent most of his career reporting from the Islamic world on a quest to promote cross-cultural understanding. he wanted to give the US a better understanding of Islam. the other was a militant who ultimately chose a deeply violent path to express his views. After 9/11, their paths crossed in Pakistan, with tragic consequences,” said Sharma.
The debut of the documentary later this year will coincide with Pearl’s birthday. In addition, the Daniel Pearl Foundation will coordinate worldwide events designed to foster cross-cultural understanding through music and journalism.
The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl will have its world premiere at The Tribeca Film Festival in New York in late April 2006, where it has been selected for special screening. It will also be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year.
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.
