Cable TV
DEN to launch 4k, ‘open’ STBs, give a leg-up to HD, b’band services
NEW DELHI: The Sameer Manchanda-promoted DEN Networks Ltd is planning to launch feature-rich 4k and `open’ set-top-boxes in the near future, apart from continuing to push its HD STBs. The reason: enrich consumer experience and keep pace with evolving global trends, which have started reflecting in a price-sensitive Indian market too.
As digitisation of Indian cable TV services rolls on with the final analog sunset date of 31 March 2017 not far off, DEN is also aiming to push its broadband service in approximately 20 more towns and cities over an year.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, DEN CEO SN Sharma said, “We do plan to launch 4k boxes over the next six months and are also working on an ‘open’ box to keep pace with evolving technologies and global trends very much visible in markets like the US and Europe. Such boxes would be rich in features like digital video recorder, in-built apps and go a long way in changing consumer experience.”
Would the strategy to launch 4k and feature-rich boxes work in a price sensitive market like India? While admitting limitations to such boxes in terms of gaining mass popularity, especially as supply of 4K programming is still scarce, Sharma added, “As consumer behaviour has changed and is still changing, we feel there would be a sizable number of buyers for high-end boxes, including HD, if properly marketed to consumers.”
Further explaining the reason behind this renewed push for HD and other consumer-enriching boxes, though comparatively costlier than the present ones, he said DEN is attempting to “keep pace” with DTH services, which had an advantage of starting off as a digital service unlike analog cable trying to convert to digital and other technologies like OTT.
“We aim to seed in the market at least one million HD boxes over the next 12 months,” Sharma elaborated, adding, “I was surprised to get feedbacks from consumers and partner LCOs after touring small towns. There’s a fairly good demand for HD boxes in such places too. And, sitting in metros, we used to think consumers in small places of India would not be able to afford HD boxes, which are certainly costlier than the normal boxes given to them earlier. Our HD initiative has started.”
According to figures available with the government and some investors, DEN has deployed 200,000 boxes in digitisation’s phase 3 and 4 with digital subscribers of the company contributing Rs. 10.2 crore or Rs 102 million in Q3 of FY 2016-17 to the overall quarterly revenue kitty. Overall subscriber base is 10+ million.
The vigour with which cable services, especially digital, are being pushed is not without reason too. Apart from evolving with times, financial results too have shown concentration on the company’s core business (cable TV services) yields dividends. For example, amongst the few other highlights of FY17Q3, cable subscriptions registered a strong growth of 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Not only digital addressable system (DAS) phase 1 EBITDA stood at 30+ per cent, DAS phase 3’s monetisation was Rs. 65 (inclusive of taxes) as on December ’16.
Expanding cable business also throws up other options at revenue generation. Sharma’s remit from the company board and investors is also to focus on increasing the broadband business of DEN bringing hi-speed broadband network to consumers’ homes, which is perfectly in line with PM Modi’s vision of `Digital India’.
DEN plans to launch its broadband services in 15 to 20 new towns over the next six to nine months. And the confidence to give this segment of the business a leg up has come from the fact that broadband EBITDA got even for Q3 FY’17 despite the freebie blitz unveiled by Reliance Jio and other telcos during that time.
According to data available, DEN added 20k broadband subscribers in Q3 FY’17 with the total subscriber base being 159,000; the figure for homes-passed standing at 864,000. While the year-on-year growth for broadband business was 82 per cent as on Q3, the total revenue and ARPU for the quarter were Rs 210 million and Rs 752, respectively.
Keep tuned in for Sharma’s full-length interview coming soon on Indiantelevision.com where he speaks on an array of subjects from reasons behind renewed focus on core business of the company, shedding loss-making investments, the way Indian landscape has changed with digitisation, DEN’s insistence on cable subscription collections, getting future-ready to whether M&A is an option to fuel company’s growth.
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.
