Cable TV
Chrome Data rolls out massive rural habits report, cable TV included
MUMBAI: The Pankaj Krishna-led Chrome Data Analytics & Media today announced the completion of their proprietary Rural Establishment Survey (RES), an unprecedented study covering consumer behaviour and habits in over 200,000 Indian villages, representing over 300 million Indians.
The survey, which was done over a period of 15 months, involved the entire Chrome Data infrastructure of over 650 field executive, 450 telecalling staff and the 150 strong analytics team, together speaking over 22 languages to map the length and breadth of the country. According to Chrome Data, one in a 100 households covering the sample area were reached.
Respondents were made to fill out a detailed questionnaire which included consumer habits, family income and lifestyle patterns among other things.
All the products in the naional consumer classification survey (NCCS), cable penetration, electricity, power cut data, political preferences, subscriber attached to each platform by village, are some of the data points which have been captured by the rural establishment report.
The survey holds direct actionables for brands and agencies to help target growth regions
Broadcasters, for example can know the exact subscriber base of cable networks in the villages covered. Along with this, it also gives the number of active subscribers of each cable network. The company believes RES will add immense value to business strategies for broadcasters, agencies and advertisers.
Speaking on the product, Chrome Data CEO Pankaj Krishna: “It has been a humbling experience to be a part of a study of such a massive scale, and I’m proud of the team for the amount of efforts they’ve put in over the past 15 months. Even we weren’t prepared for some of the findings – for broadcasters for example, there are pockets of rural areas that have seen Freedish penetration spiral up to almost a hundred percent.”
Chrome RES, he added, will be key for any business planning to capitalize on data driven strategies to exploit the 74% rural population.
Pricing for the rural establishment report varies between Rs 35 lakh to Rs 1.8 crore depending on the number genres and channels that are subscribing to to 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.
