Cable TV
Bengaluru MSOs, ISPs to cough up Rs 300 crore as 15-year fee for cables laid
MUMBAI: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will soon have Rs 3 billion in its kitty. And how? The municipal corporation has after deliberations for over two months come out with a fee structure for laying of cables across the city by multi-system cable TV operators (MSOs) and internet service providers (ISPs).
According to BBMP, MSOs and ISPs in the city have laid at least 15,000 km of cables. The move to levy a fee is to not only generate revenue, but also to ensure that the roads remain clean.
MSOs and ISPs have to pay upfront Rs 200 per meter for three cable ducts as fee for a period of 15 years. In addition, MSOs and ISPs will have to pay Rs 100 per meter for every additional duct they use.
Local cable operators (LCOs) have been exempted from paying a fee for laying cables.
According to an official with a Bengaluru-based MSO, the BBMP has asked the 30 MSOs operating in the city to submit a letter accepting the terms and conditions set by the municipal corporation for laying cables. “This letter needs to be sent on an immediate basis. Those who accept the terms can then be permitted for underground cabling,” the MSO official says.
The MSOs and ISPs which have already laid underground optical fibre cable (OFC), will in the next 3 months have to submit details of their underground cabling to the BBMP. On failure to provide details of cables already laid, the BBMP can either remove the OFC or can auction it.
“If the operators fail to submit details, the property will no longer belong to them,” the MSO official explains.
BBMP has also given three months to MSOs and ISPs to declare all uncleared OFC and pay a penalty at the rate of Rs 200 per meter in addition to the Rs 200 per meter per three ducts payable for a period of 15 years.
The MSOs and ISPs have also been asked to conduct third-party inspections of repairs done to roads damaged due to underground laying of cables. “This has to be done at the company’s cost,” he informs. Operators also have to pay Rs 100 per meter of cable laid as supervision charge to the BBMP.
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.
