Cable TV
Cable ops to meet I&B minister this evening
NEW DELHI: Though a total cable blackout did not happen in Delhi or in other parts of the country as had been threatened by a section of the cable fraternity, meetings with government officials are, of course, being held around conditional access.
A senior executive of Zee Telefilms’ cable arm Siti Cable said there may be a ‘partial’ blackout of cable service, which however needs to be ascertained. However, a section of the cable operators claimed that they have successfully blacked out service for the day in most parts of Delhi, at least.
In a related development, some independent cable operators, and a couple of MSOs are slated to meet information and broadcasting (I&B) minister Ravi Shankar Prasad this evening to discuss CAS rollout, a week ahead of the revised schedule.
The government is upset that till sometime back the multi-system operators (MSOs) had mislead it on the availability of set-top boxes. According to one estimate, there are only about 40,000 boxes that have been cleared by the customs till late last week. Now, if this estimate is to be believed, then it is worrisome as these boxes may not be adequate to even cope up with the minimal demand that is expected initially.
A government official yesterday said that after having ‘settled’ the political issues, the government is now concentrating on ironing out differences in the industry on CAS implementation. It seems that the political message from Raipur where the Bharatiya Janata Party held its national executive meeting recently is clear: go ahead with CAS, but with minimum fuss.
Meanwhile, Zee Telefilms vice-chairman Jawahar Goel today claimed that Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is ‘satisfied’ by the paper on CAS given to her by the Indian broadcasters. The chief minister, however, could not be contacted for an official comment.
Tomorrow in the lower house of the Parliament, the government is expected to face some heat on the issue of CAS and the controversy that has been whipped up around it.
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.
