Cable TV
Hathway Cable gets board nod to hike FII limit to 74 per cent
MUMBAI: It was in 2012, when the government had relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in direct to home (DTH), cable TV industry and teleports from 49 per cent to 74 per cent. In keeping with this, Hathway Cable & Datacom which early this week became the first multi system operator (MSO) to have crossed the $1 billion mark in terms of enterprise valuation, is now probably looking at attracting overseas capital into the company.
The MSO has in an announcement to the BSE informed that its Board of Directors have approved and passed the resolution to increase the foreign investment limit from the current 49 per cent to 74 per cent, this subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India, Ministry of Finance and/or the Reserve Bank of India.
“Subject to receipt of approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India, Ministry of Finance (FIPB) and / or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and all other applicable authorities, increasing the foreign investment limit only by Foreign Institutional Investors, Foreign Portfolio Investors, etc. under the Portfolio Investment Scheme in accordance with Schedules 2 and 2A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000 in the Company from 49 per cent to 74 per cent of the issued arid fully paid-up share capital of the Company,” reads the announcement.
The Hathway Board has also passed the resolution of a postal ballot notice along with the explanatory statement and calendar of events for seeking approval of the shareholders of the Company by postal ballot for its foreign investment proposal.
According to Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO and MD Jagdish Kumar Pillai, the cable TV sector is becoming lucrative for foreign investors. Pillai had earlier told Indiantelevision.com, “With broadband and cable TV getting more transparent, the market is viewing this as a great industry to invest in the next five years, and that’s reflected in the balance sheet. It is a promise of a good potential.”
With the industry getting more organised courtesy its digitsation drive, Pillai expects more foreign investors to pump in funds into the cable TV sector.
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.
