Cable TV
Furnish details of cable connections, Delhi Govt asks operators, MSOs wary of cascading effect
MUMBAI: The Delhi government has ordered cable operators to furnish the number of subscribers, an attempt which seems to be driven by the idea of increasing entertainment tax collection. Cable operators generally pay entertainment tax based on the number of their connections. It is unclear whether the government plans to claim tax from retrospective effect or not, and what is the period it is claiming tax for.
Speaking to www.indiantelevision.com, the country’s apex body for digital multi-system operators (MSOs) All-India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) secretary-general Saharsh Damani agreed that he had come across reports of local cable operators (LCOs) receiving tax notices. If the government were to demand and recover entertainment taxes from LCOs for the last 4-5 years, Damani opined, it would become difficult for the operators to survive commercially. If the LCOs were severely affected, it would obviously have had a cascading severe effect on the MSOs, he added.
A written communication has reportedly been sent to multi-system operators (MSOs) to submit details of their local cable operators and cable connections at the earliest, according to the entertainment tax department. However, Den Networks CEO SN Sharma, speaking to www.indiantelevision.com, denied receiving any communication so far. Damani also replied in the negative.
The department has reportedly asked MSOs, around 20 in Delhi, to provide details of their cable connections with each local cable operator (LCO). The department has also sought details of addresses and phone numbers of local cable operators under them, an official said. The decision has been taken to increase tax collection, the official said.
According to the department, the government had collected Rs 160.72 crore in taxes in the financial year 2014-15, while it increased to Rs 261.94 crore in the fiscal 2015-16.
The Delhi High Court had recently held that MSOs and LCOs distributing television signals to subscribers directly are liable to collect and pay entertainment to the government. The court’s decision came on pleas filed by four MSOs – Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd, DEN Networks Ltd, IndusInd Media and Communications and SITI Cable Network Ltd. They had moved the court challenging the levy of entertainment tax and vires of the Delhi Entertainment and BettingTax Rules.
The four had sought quashing of the Delhi government’s 17 December, 2012, circular and show cause notices issued in January 2014 directing them to deposit tax beginning April 2013. Delhi had threatened to halt cable TV transmission of the MSOs by closing their headends. The government had stated that the assessment of the MSOs bared that they had been indulging in tax fraud in crore since April 2013.
A bench of justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Badar Durrez Ahemed, however, quashed the Delhi government’s December 2012 circular and show-cause notices served by its Department of Entertainment Tax asking the MSOs to to pay entertainment tax or face action.
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Entertainment tax: MSOs & LCOs must collect & pay, HC halts Delhi ‘action’
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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.
