Cable TV
Comcast, TWC likely to close acquisition deal
MUMBAI: Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corp are likely to close an acquisition deal that could be worth $58 billion. It is learnt that the duo are in informal discussion for the same.
Several pay TV operators have showed interest in acquiring Time Warner Cable. While so far it was Charter Communications that was eyeing the operator, now several media reports are hinting towards a possible acquisition by Comcast.
Charter has been on the hunt for an acquisition, as John Malone, who controls 27 per cent in the company through Liberty Global, looks to bootstrap Charter’s growth. With 4.3 million subscribers, mergers and acquisitions has become an ongoing strategy for Charter. It should be noted that earlier in the year, Charter bought Optimum West from Cablevision for $1.6 billion.
Media reports suggest that Comcast and Charter could, however, buy Time Warner Cable together, and divide its holdings, as they did with Adelphia Communications back in 2006. Comcast could take the New York City operation and gain a more valuable presence there, while Charter could gain dominance in LA.
Consolidation in the cable industry is likely as MSOs look to gain enough size to have a card to play against content owners regarding programming costs considering that no media company could be economically viable if they lose 33 per cent of the country’s pay-TV subscribers.
One way or another, TWC will likely be bought by someone. It lost 306,000 video subscribers in the third quarter after a month-long blackout of CBS and Showtime in a retransmission dispute.
TWC currently has 11 million customers, and Comcast has 21 million; together, they would serve about a third of the nation’s pay-TV subscribers.
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.
