Cable TV
Cable industry veteran Lt Col VC Khare passes away
KOLKATA: Cable TV expert, retired Lt.Col VC Khare has passed away. He contributed to the cable TV industry in India at different roles for nearly three decades.
He was a member of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) where he played a significant role in formulating 8 BIS Specification for cable TV hardware. He published over 30 papers on cable television.
The cable industry veteran was also a part of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL). During his stint at BECIL, he established the Wireline Broadcasting Division and set up training in collaboration with SCTE UK in India.
He also worked with renowned brands like Videocon, Reliance Communications. At Videocon, he guided the setting up of d2h earth station for its DTH platform. At Reliance Communications, he set up Reliance Digital DTH platform from concept to service on screen.
Khare was very vocal about industry issues like DAS implementation, new tariff order roll out. He spoke at different forums to share his expertise with the operators.
At the early part of his career, he was associated with the Indian army for 24 years. He got his education on telecommunications engineering in the field of military communications from the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering Secunderabad.
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.
