Cable TV
Decoding Covid2019 impact on GTPL Hathway’s cable, broadband business
MUMBAI: As the country is struggling with the Covid2019 pandemic, cable TV and internet have acted as the nervous system to keep people informed and entertained. Due to the need of staying connected, the cable and broadband service providers like GTPL Hathway have seen a surge in demand on both sides of the business.
GTPL Hathway will re-evaluate strategies after observing the Covid2019 impact; however, the company’s business is not much impacted at this stage as people are watching more TV, and consuming more data. This means that consumers are upgrading existing packs.
“If you see the subscriber base (on the cable side), we have grown by 10 per cent this year. We are going to grow more, if all things go well. So the target is to grow more than 10 per cent on subscriber base. And on the revenue side also we want to maintain our CAGR of what we did in the last four years,” GTPL Hathway CATV business head and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj said in an earnings call.
While on-ground collections have been a major issue for a large number of MSOs, the company has given online payment facilities to the local cable operators (LCO) also. “LCO has also started collecting online. We have given that facility to the LCOs that they can collect online from their subscribers, which is going directly to their bank account and then digitally they are paying us. And we have given some relaxation on that way. So the situation is totally under control. And we are getting the collections as projected,” Pankaj said.
Since free-to-air broadcasters have been adversely affected by dwindling advertising revenue, there might be re-negotiation on carriage fee and placement fee if the current turmoil persists. However, with 70-75 per cent revenue coming from placement, carriage and marketing side from pay broadcasters, the company is not foreseeing any impact on that.
While upping the broadband game significantly, it has also added around 80k subscribers in FY20. As the company reached 30k net subscribers’ addition in the last quarter, it aims to maintain and increase that trend. Hence, it is looking at 120k to 150k subscribers in FY 21.
“The residential customers have gone up in the last 30 days, both on the broadband side and cable side. But commercial customers like shops, offices, restaurants, hotels have come down. So you can say it's more of a net-net for both the businesses, for the broadband and the cable. We are not getting renewals for commercial restaurants, offices, and hotels. But there is a surge in the residential connections,” Pankaj said.
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.
