Cable TV
Q1-2015: Siti Cable reports 47.5 per cent y-o-y op income growth, triple subscription rev
BENGALURU: Essel group’s Subhash Chandra led Siti Cable Network Limited (Siti Cable) reported a 47.5 per cent jump in consolidated Total income from operations (TIO) in Q1-2015 at Rs 209.02 crore as compared to the Rs 141.74 crore in Q1-2014, but 10.4 per cent lower than the Rs 233.34 crore in Q4-2014. Overall, total revenue for the current quarter at Rs 211 crore was 46 per cent more than the Rs 144.1 crore reported in the year ago quarter. Siti Cable reported subscription revenue at Rs 105.7 crore as compared to Rs 32.1 crore for the corresponding quarter of last fiscal and hence recorded a growth of 229 per cent.
The company’s loss was higher in Q1-2015 by 10 per cent at Rs 31.67 crore in Q1-2015 as compared to the Rs 28.77 crore in Q1-2014 and was higher by 51.8 per cent from the loss of Rs 20.86 crore reported in Q4-2014. However, the company’s operating profit (EBIDTA) in Q1-2015 at Rs 36.3 crore (17.4 per cent of TIO) was 16.3 per cent more y-o-y as compared to the Rs 31.2 crore (22 per cent of TIO) and 30.1 per cent more than the Rs 27.9 crore (12 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014.
Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore.
(2) The figures mentioned in the report are consolidated unless stated otherwise.
Siti Cable chairman Chandra said, “The performance during the quarter reflects the investment that Siti is making to grow its business and market share. This has been accompanied by a strong improvement in both top line and bottom line growth of the company during the quarter due to continued emphasis on providing quality services to our consumers and superior technological support to our business partners.”
Let us look at the other numbers for Q1-2015 reported by Siti Cable
Total expenditure in Q1-2015 was 47.8 per cent higher at Rs 203.76 crore (97.5 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 137.89 crore (97.3 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2014 and 12.6 per cent lower than the Rs 233.07 crore (99.9 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014.
The company’s carriage sharing, pay channel and related cost (pay channel cost) in Q1-2015 at Rs 125.55 crore (60.1 per cent of TIO) was more than double (2.03 times) the Rs 61.8 crore (43.60 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2014 and 1.1 per cent more than the Rs 124.16 crore (53.21 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014.
Y-o-y the company’s finance cost was 16.2 per cent higher at Rs 30.37 crore (14.5 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 as compared to the Rs 26.14 (18.4 per cent of TIO) crore, while q-o-q it was 2.8 per cent lower than Rs 31.24 crore (13.4 per cent of TIO).
The company’s other expense at Rs 38.05 crore (18.2 per cent of TIO) was 4.7 per cent lower than the Rs 39.19 crore in Q1-2014 and almost half (49.5 per cent less) than the Rs 75.93 crore (32.31 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014.
Siti Cable CEO V D Wadhwa said, “We continue to focus on improvement in quality of our services to our viewers and improvement in our subscription revenues. The results for the quarter are reflective of these efforts. The subscriber revenue during the quarter has shown robust growth of 229 per cent and with the starting of package billing in DAS II cities and likely roll out of digitization in phase III & IV, it is set to further improve in the coming quarters.”
Additional Note: (1) In view of the mandatory digital addressable system (‘DAS’) regulation announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, digitization of cable networks has been implemented in the cities notified for Phase 1 and Phase 2 effective November 1, 2012 and April 1, 2013 respectively. Owing to the initial delays in implementation of DAS in phase 1 cities and challenges faced by all the Multi-System Operators (MSOs) during transition from analogue business to DAS, the company says that it is in the process of executing contracts with the subscribers and implementation of revenue sharing contracts entered into with the local cable operators (LCOs).
Accordingly, the Company has invoiced and recognized subscription revenue net of sharing of revenue with the LCOs under the new DAS regime amounting to Rs. 13,497.4 lakhs (standalone Rs.9,605.34 lakhs) for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 respectively based on certain estimates derived from market trends and ongoing discussion with the LCOs. The company says that its management is of the view that the execution/implementation of such contracts will not have a significant impact on the subscription revenue for the current period.
(2) During the quarter, the Company says that it has revised the useful lives of its fixed assets to comply with the requirements as mentioned under Schedule II of the Companies Act, 2013. Accordingly, the depreciation expense for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 is higher by Rs. 458.18 lakhs (standalone financial Rs. 406.55 lakhs). Similarly, in case of fixed assets whose life has been completed as on March 31, 2014, the carrying value (net of residual value) of those assets accounting to Rs. 1,068.84 lakhs (amounting of Rs. 167.44 lakhs in standalone financial) has been adjusted with the opening balances of retained earnings i.e. deficit in statement of profit and loss.
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.
