Cable TV
Dish Network Q1-2015 revenue up 5.3%; income doubles despite losing subscribers
BENGALURU: US subscription Pay TV service company Dish Network Corporation reported 5.3 per cent growth in revenue for the quarter ended 31 March, 2015 (Current quarter, Q1-2015) at $3724.23 million as compared to the $3594.20 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.
Dish Network’s income almost doubled (up 99.8 per cent) to $358.49 million in the current quarter as compared to the $175.93 million in Q1-2014. Consequently diluted earnings per share (diluted EPS) doubled to $0.76 from $0.38.
The company activated approximately 554,000 gross new Pay-TV subscribers compared to approximately 639,000 gross new Pay-TV subscribers in the prior year’s first quarter. Net Pay-TV subscribers declined by approximately 134,000 or 21.8 per cent in Q1-2015. The company closed the current quarter with 13.844 million Pay-TV subscribers, compared to 14.097 million Pay-TV subscribers in Q1-2014.
Pay-TV ARPU (average revenue per user) for the first quarter totalled $86.01, 4.4 per cent higher as compared to Q1-2014 Pay-TV ARPU of $82.36. The company reveals that Pay-TV subscriber churn rate was higher at 1.65 per cent versus 1.42 per cent for Q1-2014.
Higher ARPU meant that subscriber revenue increased 3.7 per cent to $3688.92 million in Q1-2015 from $3556.19 million in the previous year. Equipment related revenue was almost flat at $22.47 million in Q1-2015 as compared to the $22.24 million in the corresponding quarter of last year. Echo Star revenue (Equipment sales, services and other revenue) declined 18.6 per cent in Q1-2015 to $12.84 million as compared to the $15.77 million in Q1-2014.
Subscriber related expenses rose 4.5 per cent to $2162.77 million in Q1-2015 from $2069.13 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Satellite and transmission costs in the current quarter rose 25 per cent to $186.84 million from $149.5 million in Q1-2014. Subscriber acquisition cost declined 11.6 per cent to $396.92 million in Q1-2015 as compared to $449.15 million in the year ago quarter.
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.
