Cable TV
GTPL Hathway aims high with headend-in-the-sky launch in FY26
MUMBAI: Two companies have tried to deliver TV signals via this mode. One of them- Jain headend in the sky (Hits) was too early – and had to be put to rest. The second -Nxt Digital from the Hinduja group – has only been able to take it a certain distance. Now a third player is getting into the Hits game: the Anirudhsinh Jadeja-headed cable TV and broadband MSO GTPL Hathway.
Speaking at the investor call after the declaration of its third quarter FY25 financials last week, GTPL Hathway business head B2B & chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj admitted this while responding to a question from an analyst.
Said he: “..we are going to change the delivery technology which we are going on. I will talk about that in Q4, much in the Q4 as we are changing it from the fiber to satellite which we are doing right now going on to the Hits, but I will talk about the Hits in the next quarter and how it is going to give us the company the access to all over India, what are going to be main targets on that, how we are going to increase our subscriber base, how it is going to affect our costing and what the positive impact is going to happen on that. That is what we are going to give you in Q4. We are trying to launch that in FY26 this Hits and it is going to be very positive for the company.”
Pankaj added that government clearances from some of its departments are pending and the company was in the process of fulfilling some of the licence obligations from the ministry of information and broadcasting.
The company has already taken loans for the Hits project and it is almost 80 per cent complete on the capex side, Pankaj revealed. “We are just looking forward that by next quarter the whole project will be completed and we will be ready to launch,” he said.
Going by the fact that it has emerged as the largest active subscriber cable TV company in the country, it is in the realms of possibility that its Hits project could well go on to be a major hit with customers.
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.
