Cable TV
Funky Formats to showcase five new shows at MIPTV
MUMBAI: Funky Formats will showcase five new entertainment formats at the television event MIPTV in Cannes, France. The event runs from 2 to 6 April.
This will be headlined by the show Telenovela Star, which will air on Caracol in Colombia later this year. The format sees a telenovela running in parallel with a daily reality show. Funky is sharing rights with Caracol Television.
Be My Boss is a reality series that encourages young people to pursue their dream jobs, with candidates tracking down and pitching to their ideal CEO. On the game show end, ATM is being billed by the company as the first quiz to have an ATM machine dispensing cash right in the studio.
Banks and credit card providers have already signed up to sponsor in some territories. Meanwhile, The Trade Show is a location-based game where contestants are provided with everyday items which they must trade up with local citizens to form a ‘value chain’.
Rounding out the slate is Alien Nation, a reality sitcom where families allow cameras into their homes. The twist is that all the action is being watched by aliens. First, the aliens find the humans weird, but over time they develop human traits and emotions.
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.
