Cable TV
Cable cos ahead, telcos catching up: US Survey
MUMBAI: In the US, the entertainment environment is rapidly evolving to be one where there will be intense competition among cable and telecom companies to offer triple play – phone, cable TV and Internet services.
American cable ops have fast taken the lead as the bundled service provider. Most operators expect a double-digit topline and cash flow growth, primarily driven by their bundled service offerings.
The phone companies are right on their heels and will soon be evaluating their return on investment for triple and quadruple play bundles. But how will all of this net out?
A significant minority of American consumers are ready to switch to a bundled package offered by a single provider, according to a Ipsos-Insight study that looked at a number of price and service scenarios.
The motivation for consumers
This comes in the form of cheaper bills and the convenience of one consolidated payment per month. The good news for consumers is that the triple play strategy, promoted for many years, is now a reality.
Cable TV companies already offer phone service and Internet service, while phone companies will soon be offering cable TV service, along with their high-speed Internet and phone services.
There’s a lot at stake for the bundling strategies to succeed. The cable TV industry collectively has invested about $85 billion to upgrade networks and to support bundled strategies as well as services such as video-on demand, according to the study.
Not far behind are the telecom giants: SBC, Verizon, and Bell South are pouring $10 billion into fibre optic cable so they can offer TV signals over their phone lines.
Telecom leader SBC plans to roll out its TV service in November of this year and expects to attract between 2 and 3 million households by the end of 2005.
Who will win this high stakes game?
This will depend on the package. According to the Ipsos study, in one scenario where consumers evaluated a bundled Internet, television, and telephone service package at $119 a month, an estimated seven per cent of American households say they will switch to a bundled package offered by a phone company.
Seven per cent say that they will switch to the same package offered by a cable TV company. Satellite companies can expect less then half of that, about three per cent of the market.
Explains Ipsos-Insight senior VP and head cable, media and entertainment practice Lynne Bartos, “Clearly, consumers see the phone and cable companies as equals in this triple play scenario. Not surprising, there’s a segment of the population still unfamiliar with satellite companies’ offerings and may be skeptical about their ability to provide high-speed Internet and phone services.”
Data for the survey was gathered among 601 adults above 18 years, using the Ipsos US Online Panel. The study was conducted between 4-15 February, 2005.
Phone companies look strong in Quadruple Play market
In the quadruple play market which includes wireless phone service, the telcos, however, stand at an advantage. By adding 1,000 wireless minutes for a total bundle price of about $149 a month, the research shows that phone companies can potentially expect to acquire around 16 per cent of the switchers.
This will leave cable TV companies with a five per cent share, and satellite providers with a two per cent share. The vast majority of Americans (76 per cent) will remain with their current, unbundled services.
In the basic triple-play scenario tested with cable TV, Internet and phone packages at parity from various providers, it seems consumers are equally likely to give their business to either service provider depending on the package.
Value added features, like video-on-demand, HDTV capabilities, DVRs etc will play an important role at the point of purchase and are likely to tip the scales.
Wireless phone service favours the phone companies initially and it makes sense since cable operators are not known to provide wireless phone as of yet.
“But we expect to see more deals like the recent one between Time Warner Cable and Sprint, indicating that the cable operators are aggressively pursuing the quadruple play,” Bartos said.
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.
