Cable TV
‘MSOs need to have an integrated revenue model’: Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO K Jayaraman
Now more than ever, cable companies realise the need to upgrade service and content as they face the threat from direct-to-home (DTH) and telecom operators who are planning to offer triple play service in future. Hathway Cable & Datacom is focusing on extending its digital cable television services which are currently available in four cities. There is also an aggressive push to drive revenues from broadband business while growth from cable TV subscription is expected to remain under pressure until addressability (as in CAS) takes off.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Hathway Cable & Datacom chief executive officer K Jayaraman elaborates on the need for multi system operators (MSOs) to have an integrated revenue model from digital and analogue cable TV, broadband and cable channels.
Excerpts:
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Will Siticable’s recent acquisition of Kolkata-based MSO Indian Cable Net Company (formerly RPG Netcom) set the ball rolling for more such deals and consolidation in the cable TV industry? |
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RPG Netcom has been looking for a buyer for the last few years. So why this new interest shown by two companies to buy out the ailing MSO? |
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Were you evaluating a takeover of RPG which would have given you a footprint in the eastern region? |
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Does this mean that Siticable and Sun Network had broadcasting interests to protect? |
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Are broadcasters seriously eyeing cable companies even as distribution is getting tougher? |
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Will this ignite higher valuation for cable companies? |
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| Including Hathway? We are losing money. |
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Isn’t carriage or positioning fees becoming a healthy source of revenue? |
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Does it make business sense to acquire and create size in a particular territory like Siticable has done in Kolkata? Could you then structure a revival plan around carriage fees based on the strength of your market share in that territory? |
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Can’t you take cable networks on lease model? |
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Was 2004 a less tough year for cable companies? |
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Isn’t the scenario different today with Space TV and Sun Direct TV obtaining clearance from the government? |
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| What do cable companies need to do? Cable TV has to compete on the digital space. We will have to roll out digital cable faster, and race ahead. We need to match DTH in quality of service and content. We will have to get unique, extra and relevant content. |
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| How are you planning to source unique content? Frankly, we haven’t explored on that front. The content owners are willing to tie up depending on how many boxes we are able to put. But unless you have content, you can’t push the boxes. It is a chicken-and-egg problem. |
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| How do you plan to match the offerings? We have got time to do that. We will have to see what are the market forces then. If competition subsidies boxes, we will have to seriously examine what we can do. Perhaps, we can start rental schemes to push the digital boxes. As for now, we are able to offer digital cable without increasing the current subscription fee of our analogue service. |
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| What advantage does DTH have over cable operators? DTH will have the advantage of penetrating into non cable markets. Besides entering into new markets, DTH will also try to migrate cable TV subscribers to their service. |
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| Shouldn’t MSOs then be expanding subscribers by acquiring cable networks? If they don’t do that, would they not be losing a business opportunity? We do not plan to acquire new subscribers at this moment. Rather, we are trying to build a business model. We will have to focus on rolling out our digital and addressable services. |
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| Is that how cable companies can survive in future? Cable companies need to have an integrated revenue model. There has to be a proper investment plan on setting up a strong digital cable TV network along with the analogue system, having a sizeable last mile base, creating good content cable channels, and an infrastructure for possessing broadband subscribers. Only when we have a wholesale, rounded up model will there be some steam in cable companies. Those companies can ignite valuation. |
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| Have you seen a surge in subscription revenues even as the cable and satellite (C&S) households have grown? Subscription revenues are flat as the rates are regulated. Though there has been a growth in C&S homes, we as MSOs have not enjoyed growth from this. |
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| How big are the cable channels as a revenue source? The channels are growing by 10-15 per cent and we earn a small profit after amortisation. We do not have ambitious expansion plans as there is a bandwidth constraint and distribution is expensive. Spreading it on new networks is an issue. |
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| Hinduja-owned In Mumbai cable channel has closed down its news operations. Do you also feel the pressure as there is an overdose of satellite news channels? Cable news has no unique proposition now as we have not only satellite news channels but also have to compete against metro-specific channels like Sahara Samay. But we have an outsourcing arrangement with a company to supply us news; we don’t run the operations ourselves. |
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| Do cable movie channels face a similar threat? It is a very competitive arena but we have our own space. The revenues may be stagnating but the channels are under no death threat. If we are able to control costs, we can still be profitable. As we are not adding exotic content, we can survive. |
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| Is there scope to aggressively push your Internet business? This revenue stream is seeing an upside. We want to double our broadband Internet subscriber base to 100,000 by March 2006. We have just launched our services in Mysore. Jalandhar will be our next destination, making Hathway cable Internet available in 10 cities. We will, thus, be offering the service in all the cities where we run our cable operations except Vijaywada. We have a market-related pricing and already have a download-based scheme. Though we have corporate clients, our focus now is on retail. Telecom operators in future will have an advantage to service corporates because of the infrastructure they have created. But currently we are riding on the same last mile infrastructure. |
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| Is the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) business not growing at all for cable companies in India? We are in it, but don’t see this as a growth area for us because we are not able to match the prices. VoIP has become a commodity. There is strong competition and the price warfare is too severe. |
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.
