Cable TV
Disappearance of Arab channels as no permission sought: Indian govt
NEW DELHI: The Indian government today clarified that no channel has been banned, especially Arab TV channels.
Disappearance of Arab TV channels from Indian cable networks has got more to do with them not conforming to new media norms like getting landing rights from New Delhi, the government stated today officially.
“(The) government reiterates that Arab TV channels like Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabia (and) Q TV have not yet applied to be downlinked in India till date. Hence they cannot be transmitted/re-transmitted through cable networks/DTH in India, for public viewing,” information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said in a statement today.
The information and broadcasting ministry statement added, “Arab channels are still free to apply afresh for registration under the downlinking guidelines, if they so desire and they will have similar opportunities like others.”
Dasmunsi said in Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) today, “In order to strengthen the mechanism of regulation over the content of television channels, which are being transmitted/re-transmitted through cable networks/DTH in India, for public viewing, the government has notified downlinking guidelines on 11 November, 2005.
“All private TV channels, which are beamed into India and are being transmitted/re-transmitted through cable networks/DTH in India for public viewing, have to get themselves registered under the said guidelines. To facilitate smooth implementation, six months time (up to 10 May, 2006) was provided to all TV channels to comply with the provisions of the downlinking guidelines and get themselves registered.”
The government has allowed TV channels, which were uplinked from abroad and had made an application for registration to the federal government up to 11 May, 2006, to be re-transmitted in India for a period of six months or till the time registration has been granted or refused, Dasmunsi said.
Private TV channels, which were uplinking from India, in accordance with the permission for uplinking granted before 2 December, 2005, were treated as “registered” television channels under the downlinking guidelines, the government said today.
The government also clarified that no Arab TV channels have been banned, as reported in a section of the media, under pressure from Israel.
“The government of India denies this vehemently as it is contrary to facts. No channel in particular has been `banned’ recently by the ministry of information and broadcasting. This is a malicious and baseless accusation against the government by interested quarters,” Dasmunsi said.
Under the downlinking norms, 65 TV channels, uplinked from abroad, have applied for landing rights.
In a bylined report from Mumbai a correspondent of Arab News blared: “In a country widely referred to as the world’s largest democracy, the Indian government has succumbed to mounting Israeli pressure and ordered a nationwide ban on the broadcast of Arab television channels.”
The report further added that New Delhi’s ban on Arab television stations “is in complete contrast to the friendship that Arab countries imagine exists with their neighbor across the Arabian Sea.”
It seems the ban is a move to ensure that Indians do not get to see the atrocities that are presently being committed by Israel in Lebanon and the occupied territories, the report said.
The lopsided report quoted one Nabila Al-Bassam, a Saudi businesswoman on a trip to Mumbai, as saying she became exasperated at not being able to watch Arab channels at Mumbai’s leading five-star Oberoi Hotel. When she took up the issue with the hotel manager, she was told that Arab television channels had been banned across India.
What the hotel management and many like them did not know was that the so-called disappearance of Arab TV channels like Al Arabiya was because those TV channels had failed to apply for landing rights in India.
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.
