Cable TV
Casbaa holds annual elections; Fenez re-elected chairman
MUMBAI: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has announced results of 2005 Annual General Meeting elections in Singapore to the CASBAA Council of Governors, the CASBAA Board of Directors and the chairmanship for 2006-2007.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Asia Pacific head Entertainment & Media Practice Marcel Fenez is re-elected for a two-year term as chairman of the Association.
Bloomberg Television media marketing director James Ross and, Senior VP and Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific GM Ian Carroll are elected for two-year terms to the Casbaa Board of Directors.
Re-elected to the Casbaa Board are Star Group CEO Michelle Guthrie, UBC COO Francois Theron, and president and CEO of CNBC Asia Alexander Brown.
Remaining on the Casbaa Board of Directors 2006 for the second year of two-year terms are AsiaSat CEO Peter Jackson, CEO of Celestial Pictures William Pfeiffer and HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink, states an official release.
The following were elected to the Casbaa Council of Governors: ILS VP Asia Pacific Ted McFarland, chairman, president and CEO of Hong Kong Cable Television Stephen Ng, ESS MD Jamie Davis, Tom Group GM Corporate Development Anthony Tse.
The others elected to the Council of Governors were COO of Measat Paul Brown-Kenyon, VP and GM Asia Pacific of NDS Sue Taylor, director of Media Research at Synovate Steve Garton, MD of Loft Communications Andrew Jordan, CEO North Asia of GroupM Mark Patterson and StarHub chief operating officer Yong Lum Sung, the release adds.
Stepping down from the Casbaa Board of Directors was president of Turner International Asia Pacific Steve Marcopoto.
“CASBAA would particularly like to thank Steve for his long-term contributions to the Association during his years of service to the industry,” said Fenez. “At the same time, we will benefit greatly from the commitment of our new Board Members Ian Carroll and James Ross. And our Council of Governors continues to grow in terms of senior industry-wide representation, with new input from the research, satellite communications and software solutions sectors.”
In the past 12 months Casbaa has continued to improve its credibility as a clear voice for the industry, said Fenez. “The Association has not only published groundbreaking studies on both the benefits of effective regulation and the cost of pay-TV piracy but has significantly enhanced the dialogue with governments and regulators across the region.”
For 2006, Casbaa’s priorities will remain the fight against pay-TV piracy, the promotion pay-TV advertising and fostering industry development and new technologies across multiple markets, the organisation states in the release.
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.
