Cable TV
DirecTV president Mitch Stern calls it quits
MUMBAI: US pay TV platform DirecTV has announced that its president and CEO Mitch Stern has left the company.
DirecTV Group president and CEO Chase Carey, will now oversee day-to-day operations of DirecTV. The company does not plan to find a replacement for Stern. Stern had joined the company in December 2003.
While DirecTV was mum on the reason for Stern’s departure an industry source indicates that Stern, who was based in New York, constantly travelled to the West Coast on business. He started to feel that this was having a negative effect on his family life.
In making the anouncement Carey said, “While we considered 2004 a transition year, DirecTV achieved a tremendous amount of growth under Mitch’s leadership. Most notably, more new subscribers chose DirecTV last year than any other pay television service in the country. I want to take this opportunity to thank Mitch for all his efforts and contributions and wish him well. DirecTV is well positioned to go forward and build on its leadership position in the pay television industry.”
Stern said, “Serving as DirecTV’s president was very rewarding and I am very proud of all that we accomplished in the last year. DirecTV is a great success story and a fabulous business with a very promising future. While it was exciting to be part of such a dynamic organisation, the time was right for me to move on.”
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.
