Cable TV
Debate on cable industry in New Delhi tomorrow
The Center for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) is organising a discussion on ‘The Cable Industry and the Viewers: Setting New Norms and Standards’ tomorrow, 30 April.
The two-hour debate to be held at the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) office in New Delhi, plans to be the beginning of a series of interventions the centre has planned around the issue. CFAR hopes to initiate a process through which various stakeholders in the television industry come together and share their experiences and vision for the future.
Television technology has become the main concern among all its stakeholders, says CFAR. While viewers have been expressing their concern on rising subscription charges, the indifferent attitude of cable operators towards quality of service, little or no impact of digitisation on quality of images, other stakeholders (broadcasters, MSOs, cable operators and policy makers) have their own share of concerns and grievances, it notes.
As the shift from the present system to the Conditional Access System is being planned, the centre plans to initiate a process through which the stakeholders come together to find some common solutions. CFAR regularly conducts public interest research with a focus on gender and development issues, and has over the last six years, built up a consumer response to media content in the form of an audience collective called the Viewers Forum. It operates out of Delhi, Ahmedabad and Lucknow and in Nadwasarai village at Mau District in Uttar Pradesh.
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.
