Cable TV
GTPL Hathway to maintain FY22 revenue and EBIDTA growth in FY23
Mumbai: GTPL Hathway saw 12 per cent growth in revenues at Rs 24,154 million and four per cent increase in EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) to Rs 5,677 million year-on-year in FY22. The company expects to maintain this growth rate for the current financial year i.e., FY23.
“The guidance is just that we are going to maintain our compound annual growth rate (CAGR), 100 basis points here and there but we are going to maintain our CAGR in both revenue and EBITDA that’s the way as we look forward to our aggressive growth in both the businesses in this financial year,” said GTPL Hathway Ltd business head – CATV and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj during an investor call held recently.
GTPL Hathway closed the year 2021 becoming the largest multi-system operator in the country with its cable TV (CATV) subscriber base growing to 8.40 million as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) performance indicator report. “Our CATV subscriber base has grown sharply by 2.3 times in the last six years and for FY2022 it has grown by five per cent,” observed Pankaj.
ALSO READ | GTPL Hathway closes FY22 as largest MSO; revenue at Rs 24,154 million
The company lost 7.5 lakh commercial customers when Covid-19 pandemic started and has seen the return of four lakh customers since then. The rate of returning customers has slowed down from 20-25 lakh in the last quarter to 20K average during the fourth quarter FY22.
The majority of the company’s cable TV subscriptions come from the Gujarat market which has 95 per cent share with the remaining five per cent spread across markets such as Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Patna and Varanasi.
“Our CATV business expansion will gain momentum with organic and inorganic growth in the coming quarters,” said Pankaj. “After the new tariff order (NTO) , we said that growth will come from inorganic and organic. The first year of NTO has gone into stabilising the industry. Just as we were getting ready for acquisitions and going organic, Covid hit us in March 2020 and we were not able to do any inorganic growth. So, from this quarter onwards we have started both inorganic and organic growth.”
The company’s capex for FY22 was Rs 363 crore which includes Rs 180 crore of CATV capex and Rs 183 crore of broadband capex. “Next year we are keeping the target of Rs 450 crore for the capex on which around Rs 180 crore is going to be cable capex and rest is going to be the broadband capex,” said Pankaj.
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.
