Cable TV
DAS Phase III: Chhattisgarh gets two-month extension by Court
MUMBAI: Chhattisgarh has become the newest addition to the list of stayed states allowed extension by the judiciary for the Phase III deadline of Digital Addressable System (DAS).
The Chhattisgarh High Court, hearing the petition filed by Gentle Entertainment Private Limited, announced a two-month extension to complete the seeding process. The court ordered stakeholders to complete the proceedings in two months and ordered that during the process cable connections should not be discontinued.
“The court’s main concern was shortage of set top boxes and the discomfort of common people. And that is why the honourable court decided to allow the extension,” a source present in the court tells Indiantelevision.com.
The petition filed by Gentle Entertainment said, “Due to the shortage of STBs in the global market, and high demand here in India it is becoming impossible to have the adequate supply. To meet the necessary demand it will take at least two months more and hence we request the esteemed court to allow an extension of two months.”
“The question that one should ask now is, when the deadline was announced a year back why the process started so late. Are we trying to say that twelve months was not enough and we need fourteen? This leaves a bad impression on those who followed the deadline. Will the government compensate those who followed the deadline and executed things on time?” asked a senior executive from the cable fraternity.
As was reported earlier by this website, at present, the implementation remains stayed for varying periods in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Orissa, Sikkim, and Telangana, apart from Tamil Nadu where prolonged legal cases have been pending since Phase I. The original deadline for DAS Phase III deadline was that of 31 December, 2015.
Moreover, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is now planning to move the Supreme Court to club the various orders in different High Courts, which ordered extension of DAS Phase III.
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.
