Cable TV
BBC World Service to launch a television channel for Iran
MUMBAI: BBC World Service will launch a television news and information service in the Farsi (Persian) language for Iran, it was announced today. The service will complement the BBC’s existing Persian radio and online services for Iran. The service is expected to launch early in 2008 and will be based in London.
It will initially broadcast for eight hours a day, seven days a week. It will be freely available to anyone with a satellite dish or cable connection in the region. This follows BBC proposals for the service drawn up by senior BBC management.
These were approved by the BBC Governors and submitted to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for their consent as the BBC is obliged to do under the agreement with the FCO.
The operating cost of £15m a year will be funded by the UK Government. This funding will be in addition to BBC World Service’s existing grant-in-aid funding from the UK Government and will have no impact on the current BBC World Service portfolio of services.
BBC World Service director Nigel Chapman said: “The BBC’s Persian radio and online services are well-respected by Iranians, especially by opinion formers. In Iran we are regarded as the most trusted and objective of all international broadcasters for the way we provide impartial news and information about the wider world and the crucial part Iran is playing on the regional and global stage.
“But television is increasingly dominating the way that millions of Iranian people receive their news. Therefore the BBC proposed to the Foreign Office that we launch a television service in Farsi to complement our existing independent news and information services for Iran on radio and online. Like all BBC services, the new television service will be editorially independent of the UK Government. I am delighted the BBC Farsi television service proposal has been given the go-ahead.
The BBC’s Farsi television service will draw upon the BBC’s un-matched newsgathering resources. Broadcast at primetime in Iran, it will showcase accurate, impartial, balanced news and analysis from a global perspective.
It will also show investigative current affairs programmes, alongside quality BBC factual, cultural and educational documentaries. The channel will cover international and major regional issues.
It will also carry multi-media discussion programmes and debates in conjunction with the BBC’s well-established and trusted Farsi radio and online services.
The new BBC Farsi television service will:
Be completely editorially independent in line with BBC’s long-held reputation for impartial, trustworthy news reporting and analysis
Meet the strong demand for a BBC Farsi television service expressed in recent surveys where 73% of Iranians with satellite access say they will definitely or are fairly likely to watch a BBC Farsi television service
Make the BBC the only tri-media international news provider offering Farsi language news and current affairs on television, radio and online
Draw on 66 years of BBC experience covering the region in Farsi – supported by the world’s most extensive newsgathering operation: 250 news correspondents reporting from 50 bureaux allowing a global rather than purely regional perspective.
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.
