Cable TV
FremantleMedia to bring ‘Prehistoric Park’ at MipTV ’06
MUMBAI: Fremantle International Distribution (FID) will be bringing the highly-anticipated big budget Prehistoric Park to MipTV ’06.
Created by multi award-winning UK independent producers Impossible Pictures, Prehistoric Park is fronted by natural history expert Nigel Marven and embraces the latest CGI technology as Marven travels back in time to rescue some of the most amazing animals who ever roamed the earth.
The family-friendly programme is a co-production between ITV (UK), Animal Planet (US), M6 (France) and ProSieben (Germany). As co-financiers, FID have the international distribution rights (excluding France and Germany) and look forward to sharing the inspiring programme with worldwide broadcasters.
Prehistoric Park will feature stunning scenery from some of the most beautiful places on earth, both from history and today. Each of the six episodes will feature a different prehistoric predicament and will delight audiences with an appetite for adventure.
Marven takes his life in his hands when he steps back in time to try and save from extinction all manner of creatures, bringing them back to the 21st century. There are a pair of baby T Rex dinosaurs; a mammoth with a daily craving for 400 pounds of grass; a four-winged feathered dinosaur known as a Microraptor; a South American sabre tooth cat; 300 million-year-old ‘superbugs’ – including three foot long scorpions and dragonflies the size of hawks, not to mention enormous prehistoric crocodiles who ate dinosaurs.
Fremantle International Distribution managing director David Ellender, said, “Prehistoric Park is an ambitious and truly original concept which is executed impeccably by the highly-skilled team at Impossible Pictures. With a subject matter which is eternally intriguing to young and old, I anticipate a lot of interest in the show from broadcasters around the globe during MipTV.”
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.
