Broadband
Airtel’s fixed line broadband biz under pressure as Jio enters the fray
MUMBAI: More than a tenth of Airtel’s India revenue is generated through its cable business, through broadband and digital TV. And now with Reliance Jio’s entry in the cable market through its acquisition of controlling stakes in DEN Networks and Hathway cables, Airtel is very certain to face pressure in the cable industry.
According to ET, investment banking company Credit Suisse in a note said, “The buyout of DEN Networks and Hathway Cables will give Reliance Jio Infocomm “a headstart” in the ultra-fast fibre-to-home service turf, which “we see as a real threat to Bharti’s non-mobile businesses —namely, home broadband and digital TV — which garner as much as 12 per cent of Bharti’s India revenues, excluding Bharti Infratel revenues”.
Airtel generates as much as 17 per cent of its India operating income through home broadband and digital TV business.
Reliance acquired a 66 per cent stake in DEN Networks and a 51.3 per cent stake in Hathway Cables last week. The deals are said to be aggregating around Rs 5,230 crore.
As per the Swiss brokerage, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance will gain access to 24 million cable homes and leapfrog Bharti’s modest 2.1 million fixed-line homes, very few of which have fibre connectivity. Nearly out of 24 million cable homes, 16 million reside in the top 100 cities.
Analysts believe that Reliance Jio will have more bargaining power regarding content negotiations with broadcasters as they have access to a combination of 24 million cable homes and 252 million 4G mobile broadband customers.
However, Japan-based financial services company; Nomura Holdings does not expect Jio’s evaluated home broadband spending of $120-140 per home to reduce drastically as “the last-mile network infrastructure of DEN and Hathway will need to be upgraded.”
Broadband
Zoff Foods extends Shilpa Shetty partnership into ninth year
Spice brand reinforces trust-led positioning amid growth and funding push.
MUMBAI: Nine years, one flavour and the recipe clearly still works. Zoff Foods has extended its long-running association with Shilpa Shetty, marking nine consecutive years of her as brand ambassador as the company scales its presence across Indian households. What began as a digital-first collaboration has gradually evolved into a defining element of the brand’s identity. Over nearly a decade, the partnership has mirrored Zoff’s own journey from an emerging challenger to a fast-growing FMCG player with a widening footprint across e-commerce, quick commerce and offline retail channels.
The logic behind the continuity is straightforward. In a category where trust and familiarity drive purchase decisions, particularly in spices and ready-to-cook segments, long-term associations tend to carry more weight than short bursts of visibility. Shetty’s positioning as a fitness-conscious, health-aware public figure aligns with the brand’s emphasis on purity and quality factors that are increasingly shaping consumer choices in modern Indian kitchens.
The extension also comes at a time when Zoff Foods is entering a more aggressive growth phase. The company recently raised $2 million in a Pre-Series B funding round led by JM Financial Private Equity, with participation from Aman Gupta, signalling a push towards expanding distribution, product innovation and market reach.
Company executives have positioned the continued partnership as a strategic anchor amid this expansion, reinforcing brand recall while entering new markets. For Shetty, the association remains rooted in shared values around authenticity and ingredient integrity attributes that resonate strongly with increasingly mindful consumers.
In a market crowded with new-age brands and shifting loyalties, Zoff’s approach suggests a different playbook: build slowly, stay consistent, and let familiarity do the heavy lifting. Because sometimes, in both branding and cooking, it’s not about reinventing the dish, it’s about perfecting it over time.
