Cable TV
Cable trade resorting to unfair practices: Chennai’s consumer activists
CHENNAI: The battle for supremacy seems to be taking ugly turns in the capital of Tamil Nadu, one the metropolitan cities where conditional access system will be implemented post 14 July 2003.
A report in The Hindu newspaper dated 20 May 2003 states that notices were distributed to subscribers through newspaper hawkers urging consumers to demand a specific group of channels. The notices exhorted viewers to refuse to pay their cable operator or change the operators if KTV, Sun News, Gemini and Teja channels were not made available.
The notices targetted the Rajan Raheja owned multi-system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom (in which Star India has a 26 per cent stake) and some cable operators who were illegally showing new movies.
The report quoted office bearers of the Consumer Association of India (CAI) as saying that the “vested interests in the cable trade were trying to mimic the consumer organisations in order to further their own business objectives”. CAI officials also claimed that certain “fictitious” consumer organisation had placed advertisements in local dailies in certain areas of the city in an attempt to sway consumers. The CAI officials decried such moves.
It is important to note that consumers are demanding a discount for the month of April when Star channels were off air in many parts of the city – those which are being serviced by the Sun TV owned MSO Sumangali Cable Vision. The Hindu report also states that neither MSO was willing to come out with a report on the issue.
The report adds that many consumers in the city had been rejecting cable TV service altogether. While speaking to the indiantelevision.com team in Mumbai on 20 May 2003, Hathway Cable and Datacom vice president Neeraj Bhatia also said that industry reports indicated that that Kolkata and Chennai might require relatively lesser boxes because the FTA channels (Doordarshan and Eenadu TV) ‘seemed’ to be more popular amongst the viewers of television in those cities vis-a-vis Mumbai and Delhi.
“What has come as a blow to Chennai cable TV subscribers is the silence maintained by the state government and the police officials to blatant attempts at intimidating consumers into paying higher monthly charges” questions the report. Apt point considering the fact the ruling party has a strong connection with a certain channel!
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.
