Cable TV
India’s pay-TV revenue to grow at 12% CAGR over five years: MPA
MUMBAI: India’s pay-TV market remains growth oriented. A new report released by Media Partners Asia (MPA) projects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 per cent in total pay-TV channel revenue between 2014 and 2019 and a nine per cent CAGR between 2014-23.
The report further says that the total channel revenue will reach $8 billion by 2023 with 67 per cent derived from advertising and 23 per cent from subscription.
Moreover, during 2014 the pay-TV channels sector generated $3.5 billion in aggregate revenue, a growth of nine per cent year-on-year. The revenue mix stood at 68:32, skewed in favour of advertising sales. Affiliate fees for pay-TV broadcasters reached $1.1 billion in 2014, with $525 million from cable and $592 million from DTH.
For the first time, revenue from digital cable outgrew analog cable revenues. International revenues for pay-TV channels, which MPA does include in its analysis, totaled $280 million in 2014.
Additionally, India’s pay-TV industry will grow sales at a 9.8 per cent CAGR between 2014 and 2019 to reach $12.4 billion in revenue by 2019, according to the report.
The report further projects the sales to reach close to $16 billion by 2023. The pay-TV industry, as per MPA report, generated $7.7 billion in sales in 2014.
The report further highlights that the total pay-TV subscribers are expected to grow from 140 million in 2014 to 184 million by 2023. Pay-TV penetration, including multiple subs in a home, will climb incrementally from 80 per cent to 83 per cent over the 2014-23 period.
That apart, total digital pay-TV subscribers will grow from 68 million to 126 million over the 2014-23 period. Adjusted for multiple subscriptions, digital penetration of total pay-TV subscribers will be trending towards 67 per cent by 2023 versus 46 per cent in 2014.
According to MPA, analog to digital conversion will facilitate a gradual increase in pay-TV monthly ARPUs from $3.2 in 2014 to $4.7 in 2023, offset by a 30 per cent-plus share of pay-TV subscribers still accruing to analog, by 2023. Cable will remain the dominant platform; however, its share of pay-TV subscribers is expected to decline from 71 per cent in 2014 to 60 per cent in 2023, as DTH will command a majority share of net-new additions in the industry.
MPA vice president Mihir Shah said, “The pace of digitalization has slowed to a crawl as the cable industry pauses to address issues in order to improve monetization. This will help the industry deliver more ROI on already digitalized markets before addressing the remainder 70 million plus analog cable homes that require conversion. This is a big opportunity for cable, DTH and other emerging alternative pay-TV platforms.”
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.
