Cable TV
Brown Shoe teams with Nickelodeon for new lines of kids’ footwear
MUMBAI:A strategic multi-property licensing agreement has been announced between Brown Shoe company’s Buster Brown & Co. kids’ division and the entertainment brand for kids, Nickelodeon.
The two companies plan to collaborate to create and launch several lines of footwear based on Nickelodeon’s newest television programs.
The first four collections will ship to retail stores in July, just in time for the back-to-school season. The lines include a full assortment of casual shoes, boots, sport fusion athletic shoes and slippers featuring popular Nick Jr. characters from Go, Diego, Go! (for boys) and Backyardigans (girls and boys) for ages 2-6, as well as new girls’ fashion brands based on the Nickelodeon shows Unfabulous and Zoey 101.
Brown Shoe director of marketing and licensing Todd Murray said, “This partnership with Nickelodeon enables us to give kids the Nickelodeon brands they know and love in stylish, fun footwear. Our Nickelodeon footwear will be as dynamic and engaging as the Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows.”
Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products manages the third largest licensing business in the world with $4.7 billion in retail sales in 2004, from such properties as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer. The department handles the merchandising for Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, Comedy Central, MTVN International, and Spike TV.
In its 26th year, Nickelodeon is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films.
Brown Shoe is a $2.3 billion footwear company with global operations. The company operates the 900+ store Famous Footwear chain, which sells brand name shoes for the family.
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.
