Cable TV
Goldman Sachs picks shares in Hathway worth Rs 52.6 crore
MUMBAI: The new year has started on a good note for multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom. Hathway, which became the first MSO to have crossed the $1 billion mark in terms of enterprise valuation, has now attracted Goldman Sachs, which picked up 4.8 per cent stake in the company.
After investing Rs 600 crore in DEN Networks in 2013, this is Goldman Sachs second investment in Indian cable TV industry.
The company bought 80,93,268 shares of Hathway at Rs 65, amounting to Rs 52.6 crore on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The highest shareholder in the MSO is Macquarie Bank with 9.11 per cent stake. Other shareholders in the company include Reliance Capital (5.23 per cent), P6 Asia (Providence Equity Partners) (10.85 per cent) and CLSA Global (4.02 per cent) among others.
The news comes at the back of the MSO seeking shareholder’s approval for increasing its total foreign investment by Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent.
While Hathway had on 8 January got Board approval for increasing the foreign investment limit, subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India, Ministry of Finance and/or the Reserve Bank of India, the MSO is now seeking the shareholders nod.
The Hathway Board has appointed Rathi and Associates Himanshu S Kamdar as scrutiniser for conducting the voting process through postal ballot. The company has also offered e-voting facility as an alternative. The last date for the ballots to reach Kamdar is 5 pm on 13 February.
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.
