Cable TV
Hathway bags HR Excellence Award
MUMBAI: Multi system operator Hathway Cable & Datacom has added another feather to its cap by winning the HR Excellence Award organised by Genius Consultants in association with Times of India.
This was the first time ever that Hathway as an organisation had participated in an HR Award category and its Human Resource VP Sunil Suji bagged the award as “The HR Leader of the Year” in the Large Enterprise category.
Suji commented, “This recognition brings a great sense of achievement along with an added responsibility to excel further. I dedicate this award to my HR team, who has been instrumental for all the achievements in the last year. Along with the team, I look forward to enable movement of the HR function to a business Partner Model by developing Centers of Excellence and an HR strategy aligned to the Business. Various plans towards improving the learning function and compensation strategies are on the cards.”
Hathway MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar said, “My heartfelt congratulations to Sunil for this esteemed achievement. This is a well-deserved recognition. It should motivate him to achieve greater excellence in making Hathway the most preferred employer. I also appreciate the various HR initiatives taken by him with regards to policies and governances that has made Hathway more organized and distinguished in Cable and Broadband sector.”
About 450 organisations from across the country participated in the event – namely, Mahindra & Mahindra, Exide Industries, L& T Finance, Tikona Digital Networks, Jubilant Food Works, Viom Networks, Berkedia Services, amongst others.
The company’s EVP Jagadesh Babu Botta stated, “I extend my hearty congratulations to Sunil for his exemplary efforts in HR which have led to the receipt of this award. This transformation of the HR functions towards increased partnership with the business, thereby enabling a dynamic work culture. His efforts in developing a vibrant HR team, talent acquisition, learning and employee welfare are highly appreciated.”
Genius HR Excellence Awards was instituted in the year 2011, and the last three years have been very successful wherein blue chip companies across all segments of the industry, have participated on a pan India basis and have won the awards.
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.
