Cable TV
TVS Electronics Rolls out first Indian set top box
MUMBAI: Computer peripherals manufacturer TVS Electronics Limited (TVS-E) launched the first Indian made set top box (STB) today, which have been manufactured at its newly commissioned automated high volume manufacturing line in Chennai. TVS-E has also signed an agreement with Zee Network’s Siti Cable as its first customer in India for this.
Commenting on the same, TVS-E director Gopal Srinivasan said, “We’ve taken a bold step in being the first Indian company in this business. This will help the company become a strategic player in the fast emerging digital home market in the near future. With Zee Network as our customer, we’re very confident of scaling up to 20,000 STBs per month by December 2004.”
Backed by a team of design and manufacturing engineers, the state of the art facility has been commissioned by TVS-E with an investment of Rs 40 million, and has a capacity to produce 50,000 STBs per month.
Commenting on the tie-up with TVS-E, Zee Network vice chairman Jawahar Goel said, “In TVS-E we found an ideal Indian company which has design and manufacturing capabilities to locally produce STB’s. TVS-E’s excellent track record in maintaining high quality standards offers us a unique advantage over imports. We have been importing and selling 15,000 STB units per month and intend switching over to locally manufactured STB’s by the end of September.”
TVS- E expects to sell about 75,000 boxes in the next five months of this year, at revenue of Rs 200 million. However with an inverted tariff structure of 20 per cent import duty and 0 per cent export duty for full import as against full import duty and 16 per cent export duty on parts import, is a deterrent for local manufacturing. If these issues are sorted out, TVS-E expects a steep increase in local manufacturing, informed an official release.
TVS-E plans to continue to invest in this area with an aim to eventually offer cable, satellite and broadband STB’s in the future.
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.
